Fw: one man

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Romans 5:15 ...For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Romans 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

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The interesting thing is...each of us is 'one man' or 'one woman'.  The power and potential of 'one' are absolutely amazing.  You are not 'lost in the crowd'.  Until each of us comes to Jesus...individually...with personal faith...we are 'lost individually'.  The power of 'one' was never more clearly expressed than in the lives of Adam and of Jesus.  Through the one man, Adam, sin entered the world and passed, like DNA, down through the generations of mankind.  Through the one man, Jesus, the power of sin has been broken.

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And through the faith of one man or woman (...insert your name here...) we come to know the love of God...personally...just the way we long to be known and loved.

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Through one man at a time comes faith...faith that fulfills!

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: turned around

Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

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We probably didn't consciously realize that, before putting personal faith in Jesus, we actually were "enemies" of God.  How were we enemies?  Well, if God is all about reflecting Himself through all that He made...we were all about reflecting ourselves through all we could do.  Instead of showing God's greatness in fashioning a creature who would have a living, walking relationship with the Creator, we were intent in making it all about ourselves.

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But....through Jesus that has changed for followers of Christ.  We have been reconciled...set free from following the wrong master.  And beyond that...instead of being enemies, we celebrate God...we rejoice in God.

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And woven through the story is another 'turn around' as the death of Jesus (brought about by all of us as enemies) was turned around to become life...resurrected life.  And that death, which restored us, now has resulted in life that has revived us.

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Thanks to Jesus, we are back on God's track.  His 'death to life' has brought us from 'death to life' as well.

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: seeing the potential

Romans 5:6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

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The Lord saw our potential.  We were a mess...lost, confused, struggling...full of the wrong things inside (pride, self-centered).  We needed help that we weren't aware we needed.  But that was just the right time...the right condition...for a Savior.  Our weakness shows our potential.  The Lord made us with a lot of potential.  But only He could (and can now) unlock that potential.  He didn't do this because we earned it.  He did it because we were made for something bigger than ourselves.  We were made to have a personal and close and loving relationship with the Father who formed us...and who built that potential within.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: The hope fountain

Romans 5:3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope

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What is the source of your hope?  Hope is the quiet inner assurance that all will be well when life is fully played out.  Do you have that inner assurance?  The suffering that Paul identifies here is the suffering faced by one who has walked through the door of faith...faith that Christ died for them...suffering that comes when others reject, abuse, persecute and ostracize one who has simply said 'yes' to the work of Jesus on the Cross.

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Their intent is to crush and remove the evidence of transformation because it is convicting to them that anyone has found escape from the strait jacket of sin that strangely has become comfortable for so many.  But this foul treatment has the opposite effect as the one mistreated reflects on the excellent treatment they have already received by the gift of God.  This growing allegiance of thought and will to God builds endurance which leads to character development and ultimate hope...assurance that God is with them and they will forever be with God.

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Who would ever guess that suffering could lead to hope?

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: really facing reality

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

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The Gospel is expressed so many times in the Bible and here is a very clear example.  Paul has been teaching us that all people, whether Jews or Greeks, wander from God...by our very nature.  The Jews were given the Law and, because they were human, failed to live up to God's standards.  The Greeks just sinned naturally!  And so do we.  This tendency to stray, to wander, to put our selfish interest before God's will, has been with us since Adam and Eve.  We needed a great external force...beyond our capability... to restore us.  And so, that which we couldn't do by ourselves was given to us through the payment of Christ on the Cross.

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It is not in doing that we will be reconciled but by receiving that which has been done.  This is the one gift that must not be ignored because we cannot stand before God justified by any other means.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: The judge within

Genesis 2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

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In chapter 1 of Romans Paul makes it clear that we see God clearly through the things He has made.  Within each of us, when we are honest, we already know that God exists.  We may put a lot of energy into denying that or running from Him...or we may embrace that truth and come to Him.

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In chapter 2 of Romans Paul shows that we see God's nature within ourselves.  We are familiar with 'judgement' because we, ourselves, have a tendency to judge one another.  The problem is, we don't do judgement very well since we are flawed and fail to deal with our own imperfections.  We are more likely to find the faults in others than to recognize and address them in ourselves.

Matthew puts it this way in the 7th chapter of his gospel: Matt 7:3 "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"

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It's not that judgement isn't called for, even needed.  It's about aligning ourselves properly with the only true Judge.  There will come a day and Romans 2:16 tells us: "16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus."

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Why not open up your 'secrets' now before the One, from whom nothing can be hidden, judges them?

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: a familiar problem

Reading the first chapter of Romans we are told the cause of our biggest problem.  And it really is the same problem that we have had since Adam and Eve stumbled in the Garden.  Consider these two passages:

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Romans 1:25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

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When we "exchange the truth about God for a lie" we start down the path that leads to unpleasant consequences.  In the case of Adam and Eve they were thrown out of the Garden and their lives became a lot harder.  In Romans the people begin to suffer painful consequences in their own bodies.

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I believe this is where idolatry starts...when we exchange the truth about God for a lie...and I think we need to reflect frequently.  Are we listening to the Lord or to some other 'slippery' voice!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: The obvious invisible

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

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Paul has strong words for people who have turned their back on God.  And all men do...from the beginning of their lives or at other times...turn their back on God.  Despite the obvious evidence of Creation, which we daily see and experience, we ignore the invisible One behind it all.  Amazingly, we even fail to see His hand in our own lives.  What we read in Genesis of the beginning of all things: about the Creation of the world, the atmosphere, and all living things is now in evidence.  And as one season blends to the next, as fall is now showing signs of winter, we are reminded that what God began He also maintains in perfect balance.  The absolute beauty of what God called "good" in the Genesis account still displays His touch and His care.  His artist's brush is in every sky and His sculptor's fingers in the clay of every hill and valley.  And yet...we can forget...we can fail to see...we can choose to ignore and avoid Him.

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We forget that the other thing that God formed in the beginning was an intimate relationship with man and woman.  He still desires that today and, if we will turn and seek Him....He will guide us back to that place.  That is the place where the invisible part of you and I meets the invisible Creator in the place of peace, rest and oneness that He intended from the beginning.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: The best news of all!

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

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Life is the greatest gift!  We may take our daily lives for granted until a health crisis, or natural decline from aging, reminds us that we did not give ourselves life and we cannot preserve our lives.  But we are thrilled to learn that there is life beyond life...that there is a deeper quality of life and living that transcends our physical lives.  Somewhere inside we have believed this.  We have felt that our identity counted for more than a limited run on the planet.

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Paul tells us in this passage that he proclaims the gospel with passion and without fear because the key that unlocks this 'deeper life' is contained within that message.  This sense that we were made for more than just this life is activated when people hear the powerful message that we have been rescued from death and they recognize the rescuer is Jesus and they climb into His arms.  At that point we realize that our physical lives have been a vessel that have carried us to the point where we have had the opportunity to wander long enough to know we are lost so that we could wonder in amazement that we have been found.

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So we, too, must not be ashamed of the gospel...the good news that life is available...eternal life that we were formed for to know the presence of our Creator and our Rescuer.  So we have learned that our physical lives were a great gift but, perhaps even greater, is the gift of faith...that opens up eternal life and builds the bridge between us and the Lord.

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: called to faith

Romans 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ

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As Paul introduces the letter to the Romans he also introduces himself as one who has been called as an apostle of the Gospel.  Apostle means messenger or one who is sent away with a message.  The Lord had ripped Paul away from one life-cause of killing Christians and redirected his path to 'making' Christians.  This wasn't something Paul had sought or initiated...God came after him.  God called him.  We are reminded from this short passage that we, also, respond to a call when we place our faith in Jesus.  Paul calls the experience the 'obedience of faith'.  And he makes it clear that this call is intended for all nations...all people to hear. 

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There is a call from God to take the resurrection message of Christ to the entire world.  God will call people and they will respond if they choose the road of obedience...faith obedience.  The result is people who now belong to Jesus Christ.

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There is a divine 'going and coming' at the heart of the plan.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: cradle and tomb

Two humble men named Joseph provided bookends for Jesus' life on earth.  There was Joseph, husband of Mary, who obediently cared for her as the time of giving birth drew near and then raised Jesus from childhood and trained Him also as a carpenter. 

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Matthew 1:20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

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And there was Joseph of Arimathea, the rich man who gave his personal rock tomb for Jesus to be buried in.

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Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

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The name Joseph means: "May God give increase".  Through the faithfulness of the two Joseph's who were there at the beginning and end of Jesus' earthly time God brought great increase.  One placed Him in a cradle, the other in a tomb.  Jesus' earthly father was from the line of David so Jesus was confirmed as the Son of David and he protected and prepared Jesus for earthly life.  Joseph of Arimathea protected the body of Christ and prepared that body for the dramatic and awesome resurrection from his personal tomb in a way that could not be denied.

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There is a role for us like there was for the two Joseph's.  We are also called to prepare and present Jesus as our lives intersect with His and with others.  May God continue to give increase!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: from death to life

Mark 15:37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

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In reading through the account of Jesus' trial before Pilate and His suffering and crucifixion I was struck by the vignette above.  It occurred to me that the word 'breath' is the same as the word for 'spirit' in scripture.  As Jesus 'breathed his last' and the curtain of the temple was torn in two...the Roman centurion at the foot of the Cross breathed his 'first' spiritual breath as he came to faith.  This pictures how Jesus' death opens the way for all to live.  The curtain that separated people from the Holiest place in the temple was also torn.  Now all may enter.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: From Passover to Communion

Mark 14:12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"

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Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

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It was the night when Jesus was later to be betrayed.  The disciples and Jesus shared the Passover meal together.  The Passover meal was established by God's instruction for generation after generation of Jews to remember their miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery about 1500 years earlier.  During this 'last supper' that Jesus had...his last meal on earth, He initiated another meal to remember Him.  The Communion of bread and wine was to continue the tradition of remembering God's deliverance (Luke adds Jesus' instruction: "Do this in remembrance of me").  It is no accident that Communion was initiated at Passover.  The deliverance from Egypt was a picture of the salvation made available through Christ's death and resurrection.  Just as the Jews had been liberated and needed to remember that amazing truth, so we who have trusted in Christ for our deliverance, must never forget His sacrifice for us.  This we have in common and celebrate together with all who have put their trust in Him.

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Jesus didn't share in the distribution of bread and wine that he gave the disciples that night!

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Mark 14:16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

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So, Communion is a meal we share as believers in the present time that looks back as well as looking ahead: it remembers Jesus' body and blood that were broken and shed for our salvation and it points to a future meal when Jesus takes of the cup to celebrate the fulfillment of God's kingdom when it has fully come.

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As we find ourselves looking back and looking ahead, we find our purpose for looking at Him and living for Him now.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."