Month: February 2024

In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” I Corinthians 11:25

The Greek city of Corinth was a metropolis full of diversity, wealth, prestige and very important to the Roman Empire. Paul traveled to this town, evangelized and established a sizable congregation across all cultural and economic spectrums.  Soon the new believers were beset by immorality, false prophets, factions and abuses in worship. The things God designed to bind believers together in love and strength, became sources of contention and hurt. Paul sent instructions to straighten things out.

The Corinthian church expanded the Lord’s Supper and made it a complete meal. In quick time the social aspect of potluck usurped the sacred act of worship.  Luxurious food was brought for man’s glory and shared with acquaintances of like social status while others of lower economic standing went without being included. In verses 23-30 Paul reteaches the way Jesus modeled the remembrance of the Greatest Act of Love known to man.

Gluttony in the presence of starvation is a problem, but THE issue here is how easily man brings himself to the center of the universe rather than diligently determining that God, at all costs, will remain the sole object of recognition, adoration and gratitude.

Love,

Gretchen

And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him. Mark 1:13

As prophesied by Isaiah, John came baptizing for the repentance of sins.  At this time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized. As He came out of the water, Heaven was torn open and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. God’s voice spoke, “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.” (verses 1-12)

Following this event Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, fasted and prayed. This was not a time of serenity.  Satan pulled out all the stops in an attempt to end our hope before it ever got started.  Jesus prevailed.

The great questions of theology deal with Holy living and the community relationships of Christians. There is admittedly some wiggle room that does not make a difference between Heaven and hell. However, in this passage you find Jesus, fully and completely, Son of Man and Son of God. Jesus was indisputably human in every meaning of the word.  He lived as we lived, with discomfort and temptation, fought life’s most common battles, remained the sinless servant of all mankind, died a human death, BUT rose again into eternal life, thus removing the power of satan to hold us prisoner to the sorrows of this world.

Have a Great Friday!

Gretchen

So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to Heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.  Mark 6:40-41

The disciples were exhausted. Jesus was taking them to a quiet, solitary place to rest, but people saw where they were going and got there ahead of them. It was late in the afternoon in the middle of no where. Everyone was tired and hungry but no one wanted to leave.  Jesus sent His disciples out to gather what food they could find among those gathered.  From thousands of people they collected five loaves and two fish. Plenty to be grateful for and always more than enough to satisfy…….when your Daddy is God Almighty.

The time was Passover, THE Jewish Holiday!  The multitudes were headed to Jerusalem for the celebration. Due to the plot to kill Him on a prior visit,  Jesus and His friends would not be joining in any festivities.  Instead, Jesus serves. He does not rebel against His opposition with harsh consequences, nor does He sequester Himself and His supporters and slander the unbeliever. He lovingly feeds the hungry in their need.

It wasn’t the quality or quantity of resources that determined the outcome. It was the love of the Giver. Take all that you have, lay it at Jesus’ feet and count the baskets full returned. (For the entire miracle read Mark 6:30-44.)

Have a Lovely Day,

Gretchen

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. I John 4:8

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:7-8b 

God’s nature is love. This must be our standard.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Gretchen

I charge you, to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our LORD Jesus Christ. I Timothy 6:14

Timothy, an early convert turned missionary, was in Ephesus supervising the choosing and training of church leaders when Paul wrote this letter to him. Paul directs Timothy to resist being sidetracked by trivial things and remain focused on the essentials of Truth.

There were no seminaries in the early church. Developing pastoral teams could be a challenge when theological debate took precedence over grace and faith. The lure of financial gain was a distraction in addition to the confusion between righteous behavior and empty tradition. Paul’s charge was a faith the guides godliness, love, endurance and gentleness, thus completing righteousness without spot or blame.

Life is to be lived in the knowledge that Christ will return someday. At that moment the only thing that will matter is your faith, evidenced in the things you did.

Love,

Gretchen

Finally, be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power. Ephesians 6:10

This is the introduction to the full armor of God, the means by which we ourselves will survive Satan’s onslaught.

Written from house arrest in Rome, this letter reads more like a sermon than a correspondence. In it, Paul calls for unity and harmony among believers. Christians must be different than the world. The church, struggling with false profits, opposing theologies, prejudices and anything else satan can devise to destroy, is given specific instructions on how christians should respond to the world around.  First and foremost, God’s power in the life of a Christian is evidenced in our relationship with those around us.

The fight is on. We may be saved, but that won’t stop satan from attempting to hobble our good works in the name of Christ Jesus. The enemy has forces we are unprepared to recognize and oppose without the strength and power of Heaven’s armor. 

Victory is not a casual, coincidental event.  It is fought and won by the stronger, wiser contender.  Be that warrior!

Watch out Satan, Here I Come!

Gretchen

 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from His own work, just as God did from His. Hebrews 4:9-10

There was a mass exodus, thousands departed slavery and headed toward the promise of rest. God led Moses, Moses led the people.  Along the way God gave this new nation boundaries for successful national and interpersonal living.  Obedience was a problem and the great cost was the forfeit of rest. 

The Promised Land was a gift, a place secured by God for His chosen nation. The audience of this letter, Hebrews, knew an entire generation of those led by Moses did not reach God’s rest. Like those sojourners of old, these Christians had seen the miraculous power of God, but seeing isn’t doing, and failure to trust and obey would cost them too.

When God put linear time into creation He planned rest. Set apart from six twenty-four hour days, day seven is for the nurture of an intimate relationship between you and your Creator/Redeemer.  Not only does God say to take your rest, but we must grant rest to all others.  In turn, no one has the right to rob your rest on this Holy Day of Sabbath.  Take your rest, it is God’s gift, and His command.

Happy Sabbath Eve,

Gretchen

Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34

For over two years Jesus’ disciples traveled with Him and watched as He served, loved and healed the world’s broken. They have seen Jesus’ miraculous power and know that He is the Son of God, but the time has come for Jesus to complete His mission, to die and rise again, removing every threat against man’s soul. 

It’s time to prepare those who follow Jesus for what is to come. Jesus speaks of the cross for the first time. This cross takes a living breathing mortal and exchanges it for a Savior. We have a cross too. In it we lose our lives to this world and find the spirit of hope, victory and eternal life. 

Obedience to man’s laws and traditions will not do what the cross did. Jesus surrendered Himself to the cross. To deny one’s self is to put others first! All that God created us to be is found in the example of our Savior….He loved until He died of it.

Love,

Gretchen

Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, Holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1

This letter to the church in Rome is for discipleship, a call to a transformed life.  Christians must understand the deity and nature of Christ, and know His resurrection is the means to eternal life.  All actions toward man are done in love. Love in return, for God and others, is sacrifice.

Jewish belief held that Mosaic Law was the completion of God’s will. Therefore, all works of God came through Jewish heritage and tradition.  Paul fought this ideology to teach that God did something new in Christ. Nothing is done through the keeping of laws, but rather the choice of God’s love perpetuating the gift of Christ’s mercy. It is Christ that remained perfectly Holy and stands before God to justify man’s sins. Christ alone is worthy of our gratitude and worship.

Paul speaks of living, not dying!  A living sacrifice is active, in motion, a catharsis for change and is pleasing to God. Because we were sinners SAVED from DEATH and given LIFE, humble thank you’s without end, made evidence in our faith and life’s choices and actions, is the response most pleasing to God. 

Have a great Wednesday,

Gretchen

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. I John 3:1

The apostle John, along with all who believe, is a member of a great paternal inheritance, greater than any prince has ever known. Sadly, the world does not recognize the favor given us, and available to them also, because they do not understand the character of He who gives grace and mercy and possesses all the riches the universe.

As were all the early church leaders, John was confronted with attempts to taint the true Gospel.  Man’s desire to manipulate everything including God Himself, while practicing self exaltation is really quite alarming. The heart of John’s response was to declare the true and pure attributes of Christ and remind those that believe in a resurrected Savior, we must adopt the family likeness.

The Son of God became fully man, like us, so that we could become fully like Him. Family at its finest! Kinship anchored in lavish love.

Love,

Gretchen