WHAT GOD CAN’T DO

Posted on June 21, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Wait, what!? But God can do anything! We say it but do we live our lives believing it? Sometimes I wonder about that. God promises to be with us. But we still worry…about everything! God promises to guide us. But we go our own way for awhile being the “do-it-yourselfer” we all seem to struggle with each day. God promises redemption and freedom to all who repent of sin and believe in the salvation Jesus provided on the cross. But do we live as joyful, redeemed people? Does it show on our faces?
 
God promises rest to the weary, broken and burdened. Do we take Him at His Word and find rest with Him or do we just keep going like energizer bunnies and crash when we run out of self propelled steam? God promises a Way through all the trials and suffering of this life. But do we trust Him and follow Him through the storms, Hand in hand, or complain and whine about the suffering without allowing His peace as our “shelter in place” to get us through? Mm. I’m preaching to myself as I wonder and evaluate my own life.
 
The writer of Hebrews, (perhaps Paul or Luke with him), tells us clearly that GOD GAVE HIS WORD. He tells what God cannot do…GOD CANNOT BREAK HIS WORD. Therefore God never changes or amends His Promises to us (unlike cell phone companies!). God’s promises are true, unbreakable, unchangeable and trustworthy because God is Truth, unchangeable and ALWAYS with us who believe and rely on Him, His Word and His promises. The price of all these promises as been paid in full. Done deal. So…believe it! Live in celebration of His Promises to us. We’re redeemed! You can smile now!
 
Hebrews 6 God never
Hebrews 6, The Message
God Gave His Word
 
13-18 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
 
18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.,
 
Hebrews 6 promises unchangedRUN for your lives to God! Grab hold of His Promised Hope! He will never let go of us! Jesus, who knows us well and paid our debt anyway, is at the throne of God as our Advocate of mercy and grace. Take the mercy. Be filled with His grace.  Pray the promises and you will be blessed!  Then count the blessings.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your Word that never changes. Thank you for Truth that can be trusted in a changeable world full of lies with changing rules and contracts. Thank you for paying for my sin. Thank you for your unconditional, unchangeable love. Thank you for Your Promises. I’m standing, living, trusting, on Your Promises!
In Jesus Name, Amen
 
And I’m singing…
 
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
 
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
 
I’m standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
 
Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
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FINGERPAINTING TO A MASTERPIECE!

Posted on June 20, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
Hebrews 6 finger paintingAs a teacher of young lives we would encouraging ask first graders painting for the first time, “So, tell me about your picture” instead of “What in the world is this?”. See the difference? Each person was willing to enthusiastically tell you what they had in mind as they painted. Those who listened to instruction worked hard to paint their own masterpiece…in their eyes.
 
Although that is a place to start in learning to create and grow as an artist, there is much more to learn. Most Van Gogh’s and Picasso’s don’t stop with elementary teaching. Obviously, they kept learning and growing until they created masterpieces!
 
Our passage today gets serious with this growing and maturing in Christ way of life. The writer reprimands those who do not listen and refuse to grow up. He describes their lives as those who still fingerpaint in Kindergarten, refusing to grow up.
 
Our passage also stings a bit when we learn that going backwards in our maturing in Christ, turning our backs on Him, going back to our own self help ways and means actually puts Christ back on the Cross to be RE-CRUCIFIED again. The writer uses the term “repudiation” which means we are now claiming, with our behavior, that Jesus is invalid and false! It also means that we are rejecting or renunciating our duty or obligation (as under a contract); anticipatory repudiation. WOW. Listen. Don’t turn a deaf ear as many have done. Don’t accept Jesus, then turn around and deny knowing Christ in living life. This is worse than not accepting Him in the first place!
 
Yes, this growing up thing is serious! We cannot use the excuse of “I didn’t know.” We do know when we say yes to Christ, repent, receive His salvation from ourselves and sin and then live for Him according to His teaching. This is NO TIME to turn back now! “Keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.” Yes, and Amen!
 
Hebrews 5/6, The Message
 
Re-Crucifying Jesus
11-14 I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.
 
Chapter 6
1-3 So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!
 
4-8 Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they’ve personally experienced the sheer goodness of God’s Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can’t start over as if nothing happened. That’s impossible. Why, they’ve re-crucified Jesus! They’ve repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!” But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.
 
9-12 I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
 
LET’S DO IT!
 
Hebrews 6 growing up“So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ.”
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your patience with us as we grow up in You! Thank you for feeding us Your Word that reminds us to mature in our faith so that we can be all you intended for us to be…your masterpiece. Continue to transform me. I’m listening. I want to grow up still.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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IN TOUCH WITH OUR REALITY

Posted on June 19, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
“You cannot imagine what I am going through right now!” We make this statement to others in defense of our life’s actions. “You don’t know my life, you don’t know where I’ve been and what I’ve had to endure.” We either cry out in our thoughts and sometimes audibly to whoever will listen. Sometimes we believe that no one knows, cares or has a clue about “our reality”.
 
But Someone does. This Someone knows suffering. This Someone knows pain. “He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.” This Someone is in touch with our reality. He created us. He understands what we are going through, knows exactly what we need at the right time and place and cares for us more than we can imagine.
 
HE is the Source of our salvation. Jesus is the One and Only who can rescue and save us, lead us through it and help us reach to finish line to his grace and mercy. It is Jesus who is truly in touch with our reality. He will free us, who believe and obey, and lead us straight to the throne of God. Jesus. Only Jesus.
 
Hebrews 5 take the mercy
“So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.”
 
Jesus is “the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.”
 
Our next passage is the explanation, “the meat” if you will, of God’s action in Jesus as our advocate, our Savior and Lord. Read and be blessed, knowing we have Someone who knows us well, knows what we are going through, knows what we need and is ready to give it…when we surrender.
 
Take the mercy, accept the help.
 
Hebrews 4/5, The Message
 
The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain
14-16 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
 
Chapter 5
1-3 Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’.
 
4-6 No one elects himself to this honored position. He’s called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.”
 
Hebrews 5 Jesus7-10 While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
I have no regrets in saying yes to You. When others try to tell me what is wrong, you come and tell what is right and save me from myself and others. You gently pull me to Your side and turn me in the right direction of thinking and behaving. I will always need your help in every detail of my own reality. Thank you for being the Source of our salvation…forever.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
 
And I will always sing,
 
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
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IF WE BELIEVE…

Posted on June 18, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
“Trust me! If you wear the jacket you won’t get cold waiting on the bus.” “If you don’t do your homework, you won’t know what is going on during the lesson. You will be lost in the discussion.” “If you don’t go to bed now you will be more tired in the morning.” “If you wear that others are going to see things you do not want to reveal.” “If you drive like that you will have an accident.” “If you …. The list of “if you” goes on and on as we teach our kids how to live in this world. Our desires as parents are for them to be the best and do the best.
 
Do we spend as much time on their belief in God? God has some of the same desires as we do as our Father. IF WE listen closely we hear Him say, “Trust Me. If you believe and obey, you will find rest at the end of this journey.” “Trust Me, if you believe in my Son, you will live with Me now and forever!” “Trust Me, no matter what, I will abide with you, live in you and never leave you.”
 
Hebrews 4 passionIF we believe….Take a moment and let that sink in.
 
Our next passage tells us about believing and behaving with obedience to God and the promises that accompany our belief. The Hebrews messed up centuries earlier in their relationship with God. But there is a way back to an intimate relationship with God, The Father. “Today, please listen…”
 
Hebrews 4, The Message
When the Promises Are Mixed with Faith
4 1-3 For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith. Remember that God said,
 
Exasperated, I vowed,
“They’ll never get where they’re going,
never be able to sit down and rest.”
 
3-7 God made that vow, even though he’d finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it’s written, “God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,” but in this other text he says, “They’ll never be able to sit down and rest.” So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation:
 
Today, please listen,
don’t turn a deaf ear . . .
 
8-11 And so this is still a live promise. It wasn’t canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn’t keep renewing the appointment for “today.” The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.
 
12-13 God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.
 
THINK about it…
 
*God’s promises pull us to God’s goal for us…a wonderful, intimate, forever relationship through Jesus Christ, His Son.
 
*God promise of arrival and rest is still there for those who believe. At the end of our journey, “we’ll surely rest with God.”
 
*Don’t give us now! “God means what he says.” Trust Me. We trust His Word to tell us about Him, to believe what His Word says, and to obey and live the journey well. “What He says goes.”
 
*”We can’t get away from it–no matter what.”
 
Hebrews 4 today*Today, listen, trust, believe and obey. Today is the day. Just like the GPS recalculates our direction when we make a wrong turn, God will redirect us back to him…IF we believe.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for loving us so much that you think about us, know us by name, abide with us when we believe, trust and obey. You love us still when we take a wrong turn and you show us through Jesus, the way back to you. Continue to transform me, working in and through me to be all you intended for me to be and then do.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
 
The Cross Has the Final Word
 
The cross has the final word
The cross has the final word
Sorrow may come in the darkest night
But the cross has the final word
 
There’s nothing stronger, nothing higher
There’s nothing greater than the name of Jesus
All the honor, all the power
All the glory to the name of Jesus
 
The cross has the final word
The cross has the final word
Evil may put up its strongest fight
But the cross has the final word
 
There’s nothing stronger, nothing higher
Nothing greater than the name of Jesus
All the honor, all the power
All the glory to the name of Jesus
 
The cross has the final word
The cross has the final word
The Savior has come with the morning light
The cross has the final word
 
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THE CENTERPIECE

Posted on June 17, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
I love to create centerpieces for our dining table. Our home has an open concept so the table is seen readily. It is fun to direct friends’ attention to the center of the table with something eye-catching and beautiful, reflecting the rest of the beauty and joy around us and in our home. That’s what centerpieces do…UNTIL we dump clutter on the table. Our table is also becomes a place to throw keys, mail, receipts, computer cords, phones, and other miscellaneous items that cover the centerpiece from view. Mm.
 
Our next passage tells us WE are the building. Every believing house has a builder. The builder behind them all is God. “Christ as Son is in charge of the house!” HE is the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave Him to do.. “Get a grip…take a good hard look at Jesus”. Look for Jesus in each other and give him glory. “I see Jesus in you when you _______”. Fill in the blank and tell others when you see Jesus in them. It’s encouraging!
 
Is Jesus what others see first in us? Is Jesus the centerpiece that draws the attention of others to Him in our lives? What do others see first in us? It is good to take a hard look and consider, ponder, meditate and wonder if our centerpiece has been covered with the clutter of this world distorting the view of The Centerpiece of joy, peace, love and salvation.
 
Hebrews 3, The Message
 
Hebrews 3 centerpieceThe Centerpiece of All We Believe
1-6 So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.
 
6-11 Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house! That’s why the Holy Spirit says,
 
Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in “the bitter uprising,”
that time of wilderness testing!
Even though they watched me at work for forty years,
your ancestors refused to let me do it my way;
over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!
I said, “They’ll never keep their minds on God;
they refuse to walk down my road.”
Exasperated, I vowed,
“They’ll never get where they’re going,
never be able to sit down and rest.”
 
12-14 So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.
 
Hebrews 3 Jesus at the centerDear Heavenly Father,
Help us clear the clutter of all that distorts the view of YOU in us. It’s time to clean the house that you built. YOU are the centerpiece of our lives. YOU are the One we want others to see in us. Help us, Lord. Nothing is too hard for You. There is no one like You. Be the center of our lives. You are THE Centerpiece of all we believe. May others be drawn to you because of seeing You in us.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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FOR PEOPLE LIKE US…

Posted on June 16, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Father’s Day is tomorrow so the ads of what to get your father for his big day are flooding all the media outlets. There is something new this year. “Give your father an Ancestry DNA package so he can find out where he comes from” and that will make him happy. What is all the hubbub and longing to know where we came from? “Have you not heard?”, Isaiah the prophet said so many years ago?
 
Most people, like the Jews of Paul’s day, descendants of Abraham, have a spiritual hole in their hearts that has not been filled by the One from whom they were created. That’s why their search is so intense. Who am I? Where did I come from? Who are my people? Some are scared to death…of death before knowing. If you want to know where you came from, check out our next passage and your curiosity will be filled and verified. AND it won’t cost $69 for a DNA kit!
 
Once you know, don’t put the information in a file folder and forget it! “It is crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. Stay focused! The information you have been waiting for is here….
 
Hebrew 2, The Message
1-4 It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit.
 
The Salvation Pioneer
5-9 God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. It says in Scripture,
 
What is man and woman that you bother with them;
why take a second look their way?
You made them not quite as high as angels,
bright with Eden’s dawn light;
Then you put them in charge
of your entire handcrafted world.
 
When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don’t see it yet, don’t see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place.
 
Hebrews 2 suffered for us10-13 It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn’t hesitate to treat them as family, saying,
 
I’ll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know about you;
I’ll join them in worship and praise to you.
 
Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says,
 
Even I live by placing my trust in God.
 
And yet again,
 
I’m here with the children God gave me.
 
14-15 Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.
 
16-18 It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.
 
Hebrews focus on JesusAND THERE YOU HAVE IT!
–We were all created by God, our Heavenly Father. We are descendants of Adam and Eve.
–All have sinned since Adam and Eve.
–God made a way for sin and death to be defeated. That way was Jesus, born to the same descendants as us.
–God sent His Son, a part of Himself, to come down, live among us, show mankind Who God is, then laid down His life for our sin, paying our debt in full. Forever.
–Why? For people like us.
–When we say yes to Jesus, accept, believe, and follow Jesus, we are now brothers and sisters to Him! Jesus came for “people like us” so that we who believe can live forever with him “as joint heirs” with Him!
–Yes, God made a way for his created…for people like us…to love Him back and be fully restored in our family relationship with our Father.
 

Hebrews 2 familyDear Heavenly Father,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It is clear from Whom we came and to Whom we will go when this journey here is complete. Thank you for Your Holy Spirit who helps us keep that firm grip on this hope and faith in knowing You. We know Whom we have believed. We know you as Father, God. There is no one like You. Thank you for your firm grip on people like us!
In Jesus Name, Amen
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UNDILUTED, TENACIOUS FAITH

Posted on June 15, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s action in Jesus
 
It seems odd to have to say so, but too much religion is a bad thing. We can’t get too much of God, can’t get too much faith and obedience, can’t get too much love and worship. But religion–the well-intentioned efforts we make to “get it all together” for God–can very well get in the way of what God is doing for us. The main and central action is everywhere and always what God has done, is doing, and will do for us. Jesus is the revelation of that action. Our main and central focus is to live in responsive obedience to God’s action revealed in Jesus. Our part in the action is the act of faith.
 
Hebrews 1 Jesus is GodBut more often than not we become impatiently self-important along the way and decide to improve matters with our two cents worth. We add on, we supplement, we embellish. But instead of improving on the purity and simplicity of Jesus, we dilute the purity, clutter the simplicity. We become fussily religious, or anxiously religious. We get in the way.
 
That’s when it’s time to read and pray our way through the letter to the Hebrews again, written for “too religious” Christians, for “Jesus-and” Christians. In the letter, it is Jesus-and-angels, or Jesus-and-Moses, or Jesus-and-priesthood. In our time it is more likely to be Jesus-and-politics, or Jesus-and-education, or even Jesus-and-Buddha. This letter deletes the hyphens, the add-ons. The focus becomes clear and sharp again: God’s action in Jesus. And we are free once more for the act of faith, the one human action in which we don’t get in the way but on the Way. –Eugene Peterson
 
Hebrews 1, The Message
 
1-3 Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!
 
Hebrews 1 creator to SaviorThe Son Is Higher than Angels
3-6 After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you” or “I’m his Father, he’s my Son”? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, “All angels must worship him.”
 
7 Regarding angels he says,
 
The messengers are winds,
the servants are tongues of fire.
 
8-9 But he says to the Son,
 
You’re God, and on the throne for good;
your rule makes everything right.
You love it when things are right;
you hate it when things are wrong.
That is why God, your God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king,
far above your dear companions.
 
10-12 And again to the Son,
 
You, Master, started it all, laid earth’s foundations,
then crafted the stars in the sky.
Earth and sky will wear out, but not you;
they become threadbare like an old coat;
You’ll fold them up like a worn-out cloak,
and lay them away on the shelf.
But you’ll stay the same, year after year;
you’ll never fade, you’ll never wear out.
 
13 And did he ever say anything like this to an angel?
 
Sit alongside me here on my throne
Until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.
 
14 Isn’t it obvious that all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation?
 
What do we learn?
–Our faith is in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
–Jesus is God. Alpha and Omega.
–Our God never changes. Jesus is always the same. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One.
–Jesus is NOT an angel. Jesus is God.
–Jesus perfectly mirrors God. When Jesus looks in a mirror, He sees God.
–Jesus spoke words directly from God to people on earth before laying down his life to pay for the sins of all.
–Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.
–The Way is Jesus crucified so that we might live eternally with God because of our faith and belief in Him. The Way is the way to God through Jesus Christ, His Son.
 
Are we on The Way to God or getting in the way?
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
Hallowed be Your Name. May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily manna of knowledge and wisdom in every detail of our lives. Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptations to think thoughts other than yours, but deliver us from all evil and evil’s schemes to bring us down. For YOU have all power. Nothing is too hard for You. Our hope and faith is in You and You alone. To You be all glory, honor and praise forever and ever, Amen. Yes, and Amen.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe. And I’m singing….
 
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
 
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
 
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
 
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
 
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
In Him, my righteousness, alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
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KNOWING JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Posted on June 14, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Philemon – Radical Social Change
 
Every movement we make in response to God has a ripple effect, touching family, neighbors, friends, community. Belief in God alters our language. Love of God affects daily relationships. Hope in God enter into our work. Also their opposites–unbelief, indifference, an despair. None of these movements and responses, beliefs and prayers, gestures and searches, can be confined to the soul. They spill out and make history. If they don’t, they are under suspicion of being fantasies and at best, hypocrisies at worst.
 
Christians have always insisted on the history of Jesus–an actual birth, a datable death, a witnessed resurrection, locatable towns. There is a parallel history in the followers of Jesus. As they take in everything Jesus said and did–all of it a personal revelation of God in time and place–it all gets worked into local history, eventually into world history. What we do counts. Who we are reveals our Creator. We are a difference. We can make a difference.
 
Philemon and Onesimus, the salve owner and slave who figure prominently in this letter from Paul, had no idea that believing in Jesus would involve them in radical social change. But as the two of them were brought together by this letter it did. And it still does.
 
Knowing Jesus changes everything!
 
Philemon relationshipsPhilemon, The Message
1-3 I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!
 
4-7 Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!” I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.
 
To Call the Slave Your Friend
8-9 In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ’s ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn’t hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I’d rather make it a personal request.
 
10-14 While here in jail, I’ve fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter—Onesimus! He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I’m in jail for the Message. But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn’t willingly agreed to.
 
15-16 Maybe it’s all for the best that you lost him for a while. You’re getting him back now for good—and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother! That’s what he was to me—he’ll be even more than that to you.
 
17-20 So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don’t need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You’ll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.
 
21-22 I know you well enough to know you will. You’ll probably go far beyond what I’ve written. And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.
 
23-25 Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!
 
Philemon we are all.jpgWhat do we learn?
–We are ALL heirs, brothers and sisters, with Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
–We are ALL the same in Him, through Him and because of Him.
–Seek to forgive others like Jesus forgives us.
–Knowing Jesus changes everything.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
What a grand assurance in knowing You as Savior AND Lord of our lives. You are here with us. Always. We teach, correct, comfort as we develop this deep, abiding relationship WITH you. Knowing and relating to You does, indeed, change everything. Continue to transform me. Transform your church. Transform the world. It’s all about You!
In Jesus Name, Amen
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BUT WHEN GOD…

Posted on June 13, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Timothy and Titus – Inconspicuous Leadership
 
Confession. As a kid, I was that girl who played baseball with the boys on the block and even though I was short, could hold my own. I was fiercely competitive in neighborhood games. I wanted to be just as good as they were. My temper was quick and the fuse short.
 
I have had a lot of people in my life that I wanted to measure up to and be as good as. I was driven by self inflicted desires to be better than someone else. I pushed myself to be as perfect as I could possibly be…mostly on my own. I was independent, moody and easily angered by those who opposed what I was trying to accomplish or make me stop doing.
 
I was called a “spitfire” as a young adult, wanting to get something accomplished. Seize the day and moment was my mantra. I was never a big fan of committees that lingered and analyzed without doing anything of significance in my eyes. Sometimes this trait is good when channeled in the right direction but other times disastrous when you do it all on your own without direction.
 
I loved my parents dearly and miss them terribly. But my mom challenged me with never being able to measure up in her eyes. There was always one more thing I missed after doing a task for her or accomplishing something in life. There was always a “but, if you…” or “You could have done…” I was rebellious at times to those who didn’t see things my way. I was sarcastic and negative when life didn’t suit me or I wasn’t comfortable with situations and circumstances at the moment.
 
Titus 3 doing goodBUT, WHEN GOD STEPPED IN…
 
Not that I have it all together, but I have been changed. God stepped in. God redeemed me through the blood of Jesus Christ. His Holy Spirit is transforming me day by day, hour by hour to His likeness. I am still not perfect, I have not “arrived” but I know I am perfectly forgiven by the King of kings and Lord of lords. I am His and He is mine.
 
What is your “but, when God” moment? How has your life been changed? That is the question we must often ask ourselves as a good way to understand and evaluate how far we have come when our lives are tested and stalled. I am not there yet, but I’m farther down the road than I was yesterday.
 
These thoughts are prompted by God’s Word to us through Paul to Titus. Paul is finishing his thoughts of wisdom to Titus, reminding him of where he came to where he is going so that it makes perfect sense. When God steps in, we are saved from self and darkness of sin.
 
Titus 3 GodTitus 3, The Message
He Put Our Lives Together
3 1-2 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.
 
3-8 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
 
8-11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.
 
12-13 As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.
 
14 Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don’t end up with nothing to show for their lives.
 
15 All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you.
 
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE #18: GOD PUTS OUR LIVES TOGETHER, TO HIM BE THE GLORY!
 
Characteristics –
 
–Let’s go of the past and looks forward to what God will do in them.
–Big hearted, generous, courteous no matter because of God.
–Has an intimate relationship with God because of Jesus work on the Cross.
–Lives a grateful, redeemed life.
–Pliable, flexible, willing and moldable as the Holy Spirit continually transforms us to be more and more like Christ.
–Knows our salvation has nothing to do with us but everything to do with God. “But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, He saved us…we had nothing to do with it.”
–Salvation results in a complete change in our thinking and behaving. “He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously.”
–Transformed people receive the Gift readily and completely. “God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives.
–Live assured, redeemed, confident in Christ lives because of God’s promises. “And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.”
–Knows where they have been “but when God”…they know where they are going.
 
Titus 2 graceDear Heavenly Father,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving us from our stupid, earthly, worldly selves. Thank you for giving us bath and washing away all the dark spots and stains of this life. Thank you for our relationship that is precious, loving and deeply embedded into our created being. Continue your work to transform me. Transform Your people. Transform the world.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
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STARTING…NOW!

Posted on June 12, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Timothy and Titus – Inconspicuous Leadership
 
Ready, get on your mark, get set, GO! We cannot deny the feelings we have when a race begins, especially if WE are the ones on the starting block! Our heartbeats quicken with excitement. Our adrenaline kicks up our energy levels. We are ready to take off, trained and ready, to run to the finish line!
 
Paul tells Titus, “This new life is starting right now…!” Salvation is available for everyone! GO tell it! As Paul writes, the pace of his words seem to quicken with excitement as he mentors his apprentice at the starting block. My own heart beat quickens as I read and write this! GO! The signal to run has been made! We are redeemed! Live a God-filled, God-honoring life. Turn your back on the enemy offering only darkness and loss.
 
Run with energetic goodness! Build up God’s team with courage and discipline to keep running! You’re the team leader, so keep running to win. Jesus Christ is at the finish line waiting for you and your team, (all who believe and accept Jesus)! His arms are open, waiting for you to run to Him! Look at the smile on our Lord’s face!
 
This is the picture of living a God-filled, God-honoring life that I am imagining this morning as I read our next passage. What is God telling you?
 
Titus 2 PaulTitus 2, The Message
11-14 God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.
 
15 Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You’re in charge. Don’t let anyone put you down.
 
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE #17: Challenge and encourage your team to run with you to the finish line of love, mercy and grace….all found in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
 
Titus 2 embrace
Characteristics –
 
-Lives for God, with God’s Holy Spirit helping us.
-Honors God with belief AND behavior that matches what we have been taught.
-Energetic, wise, ready to share the Message, quick to forgive.
-Knows where the finish line is located and runs to Jesus who is waiting there to welcome his team.
-Is a team player…and leader if called upon to do so.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
It is so good to just sit and talk with You each morning. Thank you for listening to our prayers for help, comfort, healing and restoration for ourselves and others. Thank you for speaking to our hearts and “coaching” us as we run to the finish line to meet you. Continue to coach me and transform me to be the runner you intended for me to be all along. Transform your church. Transform the world, through your church, to run to your salvation before it’s too late.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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