Relational Bridges

 TRUE LOVE AND JUSTICE WOULD NEVER REMAIN SILENT The holiness of God knew that the trajectory of all humanity was hell-ward. His justice and mercy sent Jesus Christ as the only answer to change our infernal direction. What I am deeply concerned about is that all sin, any sin not turned from but embraced, will ultimately end in such darkness, separated from all goodness and hope and only becoming more profoundly horrifying. For me to simply stand by and be silent as people walk toward utter death would be the most unloving thing, the most unjust and vicious thing I could ever do. If a doctor knows I have a devastating disease that could be cured but tells me that "All is well. You're just fine, hale and hearty." without telling me the actuality of my dire straits, then that physician is neither kind or loving but either evil or cowardly.

  SIN Sin will never fulfill a person's life. It will never restore or reclaim a person's life. Sin can never save the essence of a person's life. Sin has never delivered the "goods" it promised for it can never satisfy beyond the limits of moments.  Sin will never, never, ever provide the solace and tranquility the human heart longs for. Sin is only a cheat. God defines sin as anything you put in the place that belongs to Him alone: you heart, your mind, your will, your emotions, your obedience, you hope, your life-commitment, your love, your present, your future, and your past that He alone can redeem and reclaim.  Sin promises an "ocean" to swim in and delivers the paltry wetness that only a wee, bitter and poisonous puddle can provide. The world cannot give you what it does not have. It can inculcate rebellion that leads to ruin but will never be able to help you discover your true self, let alone heal it. Salvaging mercy, fierce forgiveness, all-con...

  TAKE CARE, IDOLATRY IS SNEAKY There are a number of ways that followers of the Triune God worship. The point is that when the Body of Christ, whether it's the Orthodox believers or the Pentecostal disciples, the Lord God is the focus, His Word and His Presence. We do not summon the Lord to come among us. That is thinly veiled paganism as if the Lord is somehow off somewhere and needs to be contacted to let Him know we ae ready for Him to "show up." Think clearly. Jesus Christ has become Life within His disciples. He never leaves us and will never forsake us. He is always present since our bodies have become temples of the Holy Spirit. We are the ones who get distracted, dulled to His Presence by so many things, even "good" things. The Lord wants us more than He needs our work for Him. We come together because He is Who He has declared Himself to be, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We come to give Him thanks and praise, to acknowledge His sovereign right to a...

WHAT IS LASTING There is no real or lasting life in any other save in Jesus Christ. All else is finite, flawed and fatal on an eternal scale. Jesus Christ alone can redeem, rescue, and save a person's life. He alone can make human life whole and finally fully human. He, Himself, is salvation, restoration, and peace.

 DOING We are called, as followers of Jesus Christ, to not merely say, "Yes!" to the Lord, but in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit to DO "Yes!" in His Name.

  RUNNING THE RACE SET BEFORE US A dear friend of mine, a sister in Christ, explained how a person runs 26.2 miles. She said, "You don't run 26.2 miles at once. You pick a point on the horizon on the course and run to that. When you reach that point, you pick out another point on the horizon of the course and run to that and so on until you finish 26.2 miles." As Pastor Eugene Peterson said, "Following Jesus Christ as Lord is a long obedience in the same direction." We have hundreds if not thousands of records and accounts of men, women and children who have given their lives to follow Jesus Christ. To follow Him, St. John stated in his first Epistle chapter 2 verses 5-6, " But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did." Jesus lived in such a unity with His heavenly Father that He could say, "I only do what I see m...