
John 21:18-19
"Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."
As I was writing what follows, I was reminded of a favorite line in a favorite Broadway play, Godspell. The line I'm thinking about is part of the song, "All For The Best".
"Someone's got to be oppressed"
And whenever I feel like I'm out of control or out of sorts, I say that line. It's a comfort for me. I know where I come from, I know where I'm going, and I don't have any doubts about it. It is what it is, and someone's got to be oppressed.
It's a challenge and an invitation to trust and obey, even in the face of sacrifice. The Acts of Peter (a late 2nd century, apocryphal writing) claims Peter was crucified upside down in Rome under Emperor Nero around 64-68 AD. Sources ...
God and Brother: The Kenosis of Christ and Our Faithful Friendship
Philippians 2:5-8
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
I think it's very obvious that what's being said here is that our divine Lord Jesus, second person of the trinity, takes upon himself human form. I mean it says exactly that. He's taking on human form while being divine. He is not laying aside his God nature. In the incarnation he doesn't lose his God nature, and likewise he doesn't deify his human form.
If you were to ask me what it was that he "emptied", I would say he emptied himself of glory, of exaltation, and privilege. He made himself of no reputation. He made himself available to human violence and subjugation. The Greek word for "emptied" (ekenōsen) in verse 7 implies a voluntary act of ...
Scripture Reading:
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Grace is the heartbeat of the Christian faith, a divine, unearned love that flows from God’s heart to ours, despite our flaws and failures.
In religious contexts, like Christianity, grace is God’s unearned love or mercy, such as granting salvation despite our human flaws. Like a parent forgiving a child for a serious mistake, showing love despite the hurt, without holding a grudge.
Spiritual grace refers to divine or transcendent favor, love, or empowerment, often unearned and freely given. Grace is a no questions asked welcoming love. This is why Grace is sovereign and transformative, overcoming human resistance to bring about salvation.
God’s sustaining grace ensures the elect remain in faith, sealed by the Holy Spirit. And Grace is always a gift, not earned by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). And God is always the source and initiator of grace, whether through...
Acts 3:24-26
"And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness."
It was all God's plan. All of it.
Peter and John had just healed a man lame from birth by calling upon the name of Jesus Christ, causing a crowd to gather in amazement at the temple (Solomon’s Portico). Peter seizes this opportunity to preach about Jesus, linking the miracle to His power and mission. Peter aims to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises and to call the Jewish and Gentile people to repentance. He asserts that the prophets, starting with Samuel, foretold the time of Jesus and the events unfolding in the early church. "These days" refer to the messianic era, where God’s redemptive plan through Jesus is being realized.
...
Acts 3:13-16
"The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name; by faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all."
What if what they believed about Jesus is not true? What if He's not the Son of God? And in the light of all they've witnessed and the joy of their faith, everything they believed is based upon a false premise. What have they lost believing what they believe?
They're filled with joy, so much existential joy and peace in Christ's name. They're witnessing miracles in His name and the people are astonished. This faith brought them joy, purpose, and a sense of ...
Acts 3:1-5
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
It was the hour of prayer (about 3pm). The smoke from the sacrifices would still be lingering in the air. The Jews would be heading into the temple to pray and worship. Amid this sacred atmosphere, a man lame from birth, a familiar figure at the Beautiful Gate, seeks alms. The lame man, carried daily to the gate, is part of this familiar scene, his request for alms a small plea in the midst of grand religious activity. Peter and John, however, pause in this sacred moment, locking eyes with him and inviting him to expect something greater than he imagined.
Acts 3:6-8
But ...
"You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace."
"Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God."
"Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness."
"This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
"Abide in me, and I in you" (John 15:4-5).
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."
"Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ"
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
"The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
"When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you."
"The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God…No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is…the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us."
"Speak, for your servant is listening."
"Holy Spirit, prepare my heart to hear Jesus’ voice. Lord, speak for your servant. Open my heart to Your Scriptures, peace, dreams, visions, or promptings. Help me trust Jesus’ knowledge of me. Amen."
"Holy Spirit, tune my heart to hear Jesus’ voice. Guide me through Your Word, peace, dreams, visions, or promptings. Use these Spirit-led teachings to open the Scriptures. I say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’ Amen."
"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people...your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams"
"These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart."
Ecclesiastes 1:2"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”
Genesis 3:15"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
Ecclesiastes 3:11"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."
"At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord."
"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."
Ecclesiastes 2:11"Then I considered all that my hands had done…and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind."
Ecclesiastes 5:10"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money"
Romans 1:21-23"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."
Acts 4:8-10Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well."
"Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified"
"[They] perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."
"This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:17-18"in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." So, they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
"But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name."
"So, they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus."
Acts 4:19-20But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."
Acts 4:21"And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened."
"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."