Broken Crayons Still Color
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Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2096 Prayer Prelude of Newton
Two or three years before the death of John Newton, when his sight was so dim that he was no longer able to read, a friend and brother in the ministry called to have breakfast with him. Their custom was to read the Word of God following mealtime, after which Newton would make a few short remarks on the Biblical passage, and then appropriate prayer would be offered. That day, however, there was silence after the words of Scripture “by the grace of God I am what I am” were read.
Finally, after several minutes, Newton spoke, “I am not what I ought to be! How imperfect and deficient I am! I am not what I wish to be, although I abhor that which is evil and would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be, but soon I shall be out of mortality, and with it all sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was: a slave to sin and Satan. I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge that by the grace of God I am what I am!” Then, after a pause, he said. “Now let us pray!”
Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
It Isn’t Bragging When It’s True
It Isn’t Bragging When It’s True
It has only recently become popular to make our heroes more vulnerable. Those of you who are old enough to remember can compare the Batman and Superman of the 1960s to today’s edition. The earlier versions were pure, idealistic, iconic examples of what a man should be. The present editions are dark, brooding men who seem to differ from their foes only in the fact that they view themselves as servants of their communities instead of working for wealth or power.
We would also like to Photoshop our Church heroes. The Apostle Paul has been portrayed so movingly by Sir Anthony Hopkins that I hear his voice when I read Romans. In my mind, Paul is eloquent, mesmerizing, - did I mention that he looks and sounds like Sir Anthony Hopkins?
Apparently, his contemporaries did not see Paul the way Hollywood and I do.
10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”
Ouch! Given the importance of oratory in the 1st Century, Paul should have been consigned to the dustbin of history “The main object of education was the mastery of the art of oratory, and the chief practical use of that art was to enable a man to gain a reputation as an advocate in the criminal courts.” W. Warde Fowler, Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero (London: Macmillan, 1965), p.173
16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
Paul says that God used him like He did for a simple reason: so that you would know that God can use you.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
The message of the Gospel of the Kingdom does not depend upon our “sinless perfection,” upon our winsomeness or physical attractiveness, no matter how much televised pseudo-evangelism might indicate otherwise. It depends upon God working in us, both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
We forget sometimes, in our Photoshopped, Facebook boosted world, that we bear witness concerning the Christ who was broken for us.
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
In Baptism and Holy Communion we are united with Christ in His death. As we walk in newness of life by the same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, we can say, with Paul:
17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
Whatever our past might say about us, whether distant or recent, whatever our physical appearance might present concerning us, the important thing is that we know the promise and power of Immanuel: God-With-Us; it truly is “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. That message empowered Paul and the other Apostles, who passed that power on to others, the power of faith that “comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of Christ.” That power is the word of the cross.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
That word turned Martin Luther and it turned me, and it turned you. By God’s power, it will turn those who hear you. It might be foolishness to some, but so what?
That word turned Martin Luther and it turned me, and it turned you. With God’s anointing, it will turn those who hear you. It might be foolishness to some, but so what
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
God is for us - He said so, and He showed it on the Cross. That’s enough for me, that is all I need to tell me that Christ in you is more than enough for whatever comes up against you.
So let the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.