RSS

Tag Archives: Gospel

Romans 15:13-22

07 Nov

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. 15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. 17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. 18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

20 My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. 21 I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,

“Those who have never been told about him will see,
    and those who have never heard of him will understand.”

22 In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.

Romans 15:13-22

Dear God, I’m pretty distracted this morning and having a hard time digging into this passage. I’ve read it about three times now, and the first time I was really touched by the part about how Paul was speaking affirmatively towards the Romans (verse 14). They aren’t perfect (verse 15), but just saying they are full of goodness is quite a compliment. I’d love to receive that word from Paul.

But once again, Paul is essentially coming back to what he said in Acts 20:24. That he considers his life worth nothing to him. He just wants to preach the gospel of Jesus to everyone, including Gentiles. What is the gospel? That we are reconciled to you through the life, death, resurrection, and power of Jesus–you incarnate. Fully God. Fully human. You succeeded where we failed.

I was listening to an episode of the Bible Project podcast this week. They are doing a series on “The Wilderness,” and they were talking about how Jesus succeeded where we failed. He succeeded in the wilderness where Adam failed. Where Abraham failed. Where Moses failed. Where David failed. Where Elijah failed. Even the greats failed. But Jesus didn’t. Fully you and fully us, he succeeded and bridged the gap between us. You’re amazing.

Father, help me to live this gospel today. Help me to figure out how to share it better. Give me the courage to share it better. And guide me in the complicated path ahead of me. Give me clarity, wisdom, and insight. Give me compassion. Give me your eyes so I can see what you see. Give me your ears so I can hear what you hear. Take my ego out of it. Take my self-interest out of it. Help me to boil these situations down to what you need me to do.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 7, 2025 in Romans

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

“Why Me, Lord?” by Kris Kristofferson

28 Aug

“Why Me, Lord?” by Kris Kristofferson 

Why me Lord, what have I ever done
To deserve even one
Of the pleasures I’ve known
Tell me Lord, what did I ever do
That was worth loving you
Or the kindness you’ve shown.

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so
Help me Jesus I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

Tell me Lord, if you think there’s a way
I can try to repay
All I’ve taken from you
Maybe Lord, I can show someone else
What I’ve been through myself
On my way back to you. 

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so
Help me Jesus I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

  

Dear God, I’m not as concerned about the lyrics of this song as I am the testimony given my Kris Kristofferson before he sings it in this video. Basically, sitting with other country singers such as Willie Nelson, he gives his testimony and it’s really quite beautiful. Some pull quotes:

Pastor: “If anyone is lost, raise your hand.”

Kristofferson: I didn’t go to church a lot, and the notion of raising my hand was out of the question…all of a sudden, I felt my hand going up…

Pastor: “If anybody is ready to accept Jesus, come down to the front of the church.”

Kristofferson: I thought that would never happen, and I found myself getting up and walking down with all these people.

Pastor: “Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ into your life?”

Kristofferson: I said, “I don’t know.” I didn’t know what I was doing there…I can’t even remember what he was saying. Whatever it was, it was such a release for me that I found myself weeping in public, and I felt this forgiveness that I didn’t know I even needed.”

A few weeks ago I preached a sermon called, “What are we selling?” It was about the Gospel. The woman who sent this to me was in that sermon, and I replied to her, “This is what we are selling.” 

Who is lost? What a simple question that requires an answer. I remember feeling lost. Thankfully, I don’t currently feel that way, although there have been times since I’ve been a Christian that I have felt completely overwhelmed by my life and at a complete loss.  

I think the part that touched me so much was the last line I quoted. He mentioned a release and he mentioned feeling a forgiveness that I didn’t know I even needed. How many of us are too proud to ever admit we need forgiveness. There is simply no way we can call ourselves a Christian without first coming to the point of recognizing our lostness, humbling ourselves before you, and asking for and experiencing your forgiveness. It’s that release of ourselves and the façade we paint for the world that brings the tears, I think. 

Father, help me to know how to offer this to my friends, my family, and even those I only barely know. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be in every moment. 

In Jesus’ name I pray, 

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 28, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

Tags: , , , ,

What are we selling?

18 Aug

Dear God, I am giving a sermon tomorrow morning at the Presbyterian church. It will be the first time I’ve done two Sundays in a rom, and I have felt the leading for a long time to give them a good serving of the Gospel–the Good News. But is it for them or is it for me?

A couple of years ago, I heard David Brooks say something that I’ve looked for online and I cannot find. He made the comment that Christians have this great message of grace, love, forgiveness, compassion, etc., but what we communicate to the world as a group is that all we really care about is what happens in their bedrooms. While I think there is a call to a certain level of purity by you and that cannot be overlooked (for example, porn is extremely toxic and dangerous), I completely agree with this thought. We do have this great message to give people.

I just stopped in the middle of writing this to see if I could find that David Brooks quote. I didn’t find it exactly, but I found a good interview with him. I found this quote in the middle of it: “Some of my more popular columns have been those about forgiveness, or the role of suffering, or what graciousness looks like. There’s a widespread hunger to hear people talk about those issues. When you touch upon those themes, I think, ‘I’m not the only person out there who is wrestling with these things and troubled by them or comforted by them.”

Later in the interview with him, the interviewer asked, “To grasp the beauty of a love for thngs that are unlovable, you have to recognize yourself as unlovable. If we don’t want to reckon with sin, is it possible to see grace?

Brooks replied, “I think you have to have a sense that you’re loved beyond what you deserve. I think we experience grace both in this world and in a divine sense when we have messed up and don’t deserve to be forgiven but are. That’s when grace becomes shocking.

So with all of that said, let’s look at the passage I have set out for tomorrow after praying to you and see if I can make some sense of the message you want me to share.

Exodus 34:29-35: When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. // When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

2 Corinthians 3:7-18: Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!//Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over this face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Matthew 11:28-30 [Jesus speaking] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Father, it’s time for me to start to work on my outline, but I think it’s going to come down to this. We need to be reminded of what you are offering us and what we accepted:

  • Forgiveness of our sins and freedom from our shame
  • Peace to know that the circumstances in our physical world are all under your control, whether them seem to be working out for us or against us
  • Hope that even if tomorrow isn’t better, in the end, we win!
  • Joy that is driven by the freedom, the peace, and the hope

Then we need to be reminded that this is what we have to offer others. We have it to offer our friends and acquaintances. And as a church, they have it to offer their neighborhood and our community.

We aren’t selling morals and judgment. We aren’t selling condemnation. What we are selling is the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. And the only cost for the person is a willingness to humbly confess their sin before you, turn from their sin as they know it, and then pursue you. If those things happen, it won’t necessarily be an easy life, but the trials will shape us, and the fruit will be love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, and self-control. Who wouldn’t buy some of that?

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
4 Comments

Posted by on August 18, 2018 in 2 Corinthians, Exodus, Galatians, Matthew

 

Tags: , , , ,

Emails to God – Salvation, Grace, and Sex Ed

23 Mar

When one of my children prayed to accept Christ, I found myself at a little bit of a loss. The child was an early teen and, having once been an early teen who foolishly felt compelled to go through the process of salvation over and over again because I felt like it didn’t take the previous 20 times, I felt a huge burden to plant initial seeds that would sustain them regardless of what their spiritual path would hold.

How does sex education fit into this? The best marriage book I ever read was Sacred Marriage by a guy named Gary Thomas. The subtitle of the book describes his thesis: What if God designed marriage to make us Holy more than to make us happy? I went through this book with a men’s group, and Mr. Thomas wisely left the chapter about sex close to the end because I think that’s why most of us in the group were reading the book. In fact, I think we stopped reading it after we got to that chapter. But in that chapter he had a unique point. He said, paraphrasing, that most of us (especially men) have a warped sense of sex as adults because the first time we were ever exposed to the concept of sex was through a worldly, non-Biblical lens. Perhaps it was pornography, or other kids talking at school. Maybe it was something in a movie or on TV. But what would it be like if our FIRST exposure to sex was in the framework within which God intended it to be? Would that impact how we experience it as adults?

My wife and I decided to take this challenge and “beat the world to the punch” when it came to our kids learning about sex. We went to the local Christian bookstore and found a book we felt comfortable sharing with our five-year-old son (and later with our daughter when she was about five). It was designed to specifically discuss sex in a way that God intended it for our lives (in an age-appropriate way). While I will probably never know for sure, in just observing my children, it feels like they are free from at least of a few of the hangups that have haunted me.

That brings me to my child’s salvation experience. I have this young, 13-year-old child who has just made the most important decision of their life. If I can only give them one lesson, what will it be? I went to the bookshelf in our study for some help. What I found was Brennan Manning’s The Ragamuffin Gospel. I decided that the most important message I could share with my child was that God’s grace, love, and acceptance is not about our effort, but His. He loves us radically, and there is nothing we can do to change it.

Not wanting to intimidate my child with a Christian self-help book on their first day as a new Christian, I decided to make up a “Cliff’s Notes” kind of version of the first chapter. If they liked it I would do more. So I put three Bible passages together with 19 bullet points from a 20-page chapter onto two pieces of paper and gave it to them. My prayer is to thank God for bringing my child to faith and ask that He will use the foundation of a strong understanding of His grace to build the rest of their relationship with Him.

If any of you have suggestions about other things parents can do to help their children lay a good foundation and nurture further growth, please feel free to share them here.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 23, 2012 in Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,