Relational Bridges

  TAKING UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOWING JESUS Mark 8:31-38 “ Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later He would rise from the dead.   As He talked about this openly with His disciples, Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him for saying such things. Jesus turned around and looked at His disciples, then reprimanded Peter.  “Get away from me, Satan!”  He said,  “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”   Then, calling the crowd to join His disciples, He said,  “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me.   If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.     And what do y...

  WHAT IS TO BE SEEN? 2 Corinthians 3:17- 4:7 “ For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.   So, all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.   We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.   Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching a...

BEING A SHEEP Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  King David had been a shepherd. He knew what it took to care for sheep. His sheep were not “in want” because of anything they did. They were not “in want” because David cared for them at every juncture of their lives, from bir...

  SALVATION BY GOD ALONE Luke 18:22-27 “ When Jesus heard his answer, he said,  “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this, he became very sad, for he was very rich.   When Jesus saw this, He said,  “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!   In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”   He replied,  “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” One of the biggest offenses of the Gospel, if not the main offense, is the direct assault on raw human pride. We want to succeed in life, to know everything we can, unaided, independent, on our own, so that all that might be counted as success will bring glory to us and no other. Left to ou...

POWER FOR LIVING Acts 1:8 “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” As St. Paul writes in his letter to the church in Philippi, ( Philippians 2:6-8 ) that God, the Eternal Son, emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives and became a human being. Being fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ lived His Life as a human being in perfect union and fellowship with God the Father, sinless and perfect. He lived out His mission and executed His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. He lived Life in the same power He would give to His followers, His church, so they would be able to live the New Life they were to receive after His Resurrection. Jesus became the Messiah at the Jordan River when, after He identified with our desperate need for His salvation through baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in power, utterly filling...

SIGNS OF SALVATION Luke 19:8-10 “ Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded,  “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.   For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Have you ever known someone who talked about their faith, Bible reading, etc. whose output…personally or professionally was anything but? The singer whose lyrics need an “Explicit” warning on the label; the composer or author whose descriptions of some human activity could, at best, be called sordid? There are many people who live with one foot in one world and one foot in another. This is bifurcated faith…not integrated faith. Fact is, when someone surrenders to Jesus Christ, life changes. That’s a sign of salvation. As I was studying the Gospel of Luke, I came to ch...