We Need Jesus

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 26th of January, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We can read in Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles about all that Paul did in service to our Lord after Jesus showed him the truth.  He traveled throughout the known world, and especially the Gentile lands, spreading the Good News of Jesus and starting churches along the way.  And through Luke’s eyes, we can also get a glimpse of Paul, the man.  But the letters Paul wrote show us much more.

Of the 27 books of the New Testament, 13 or 14 are traditionally attributed to Paul, though some are debatable as to authorship.  His letter to the church in Rome, which he hoped to visit on his way to Spain, paints a good portrait of Paul.  While it was likely intended as an introductory letter prior to his visit, this is actually more of a theological treatise than a personal correspondence.

In this book Paul acknowledges the unique religious heritage of the Jews, but then asserts that righteousness no longer comes through the law handed down by Moses, but instead comes through Jesus.  Paul also spent a good bit of time telling those early Christians how they should live, as new creations and followers of Jesus.  And it all applies to us today, as well.

Please listen and follow along to what Paul wrote in chapter 6 of his letter to the Romans, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

5 Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised to life as He was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. 10 When He died, He died once to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

--Romans 6 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, after Jesus showed him the truth, Paul lived only to serve the Lord.  He started churches whose heritage we enjoy today.  He wrote letters that still serve to instruct us as they did those early Christians.  Father, thank You giving Paul another chance to serve our Lord and for the wisdom You gave him.  Please help us to better understand what Paul knew and what he tried to share with us.  Please help us always remember just why we need Your Son Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, through Your Spirit, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Show us how we can better serve You and Jesus.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


In the year 381 AD, Gregory of Nazianzus, the Archbishop of Constantinople, wrote:

Jesus began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.  Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.  Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.  Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.  Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.  Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.  Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.


While Gregory was describing Jesus and what He went through in His life, I think he also tells why we need Jesus.  He is our Bread of Life and Living Water, providing for our needs not only in this life but especially in our life to come.  He is our Lord and King who can rid us of any demons in our life.  He is our Good Shepherd who leads us with compassion, even wiping away our tears.  He is our Redeemer who conquered death itself so that we might have life eternal, freed from our sin.

We need Jesus.


In our scripture reading, Paul is also quite clear in explaining our need, and it mostly centers around the forgiveness of our sins.  He relates our relationship to sin as being one of slavery.  Without Jesus, we are slaves to sin.  We are owned by sin, and that means owned by Satan.  We don’t even know how to do what is right; all we know is how to sin.

Jesus came to us in our slavery to free us from the chains of sin.  But we must truly be His now.  We must fully commit to Jesus, to obeying His voice, to follow the path He set for us.

Let me quickly give you a few more reasons why we need Jesus, in addition to the grace and mercy He offers.  He is the truth, and without Him we could never know the truth.  Our life on this earth is destined to end, none of us can escape death, but Jesus conquered death through His resurrection and now offers us life eternal in paradise.

Through Jesus we are at peace with God, not peace from the turmoil of the world but that deep, inner peace that only God can give.  Without Jesus we would have no hope at all - no hope for salvation, no hope for anything but eternal torment.  He gives us strength when we are weak, joy when we are saddened by this world.

Now all of that involves what the resurrected Jesus offers us, and some may think this is simply wishful thinking or pipe dreams.  But we only have to look at what Jesus did while He walked this earth to see why our trust in His promises is well founded.  Listen to what the Apostle Matthew said in chapter 9 of his Gospel Account, verses 35 and 36…

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

--Matthew 9:35-36 (NKJV)

Jesus visited all the villages, teaching people and sharing the truth of God’s kingdom with them, healing them of any and all afflictions.  And He had compassion for them, because they had lost their way.  They were wearied from this life, scattered about, going in all different directions, like sheep without a shepherd.

So many of us today are in this condition.  Even some who claim to be followers of Christ Jesus, who call themselves Christian.  There are far too many just like those who Paul spoke of in his letter to the Philippians, chapter 2 verse 21 when he said…

21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. 

--Philippians 2:21 (NKJV)

They seek their own way, doing the things they want to do rather than what Christ would have us do.  They act like they don’t need Jesus, not really.  They think, “He was a nice, compassionate man, able to do all sorts of great things, maybe even sent from God, but He’s not here anymore and He can’t really do anything for me”.

This is not why Jesus came to us.  This is not why God sent His only Son into the world.  King David understood this when he wrote the following in verse 20 of Psalm 107…

20 He sent His Word and healed them. And He saved them from the grave.

--Psalm 107:20 (NLV)

God sent His Word, His Son, His Christ into this world to heal us of our sin and to save us from the eternal grave.  Without Jesus, we get none of this.  Without Jesus there is no truth, no hope, no redemption, no healing, no salvation, no life everlasting with God in heaven.  Without Jesus we are lost.

Family, we need Jesus.  The world needs Jesus, whether they believe it or not.  Let’s do what we can to help them see this.  Let’s show them Jesus still lives and is at work in us, through us.  Let’s show them Jesus in our love.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and only hope.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your own Son into the world to heal us and offer us salvation from eternal death and torment.  You knew how He would be treated.  Your prophet Isaiah even told that He would be hated and despised.  Yet You sent Him anyway because we were lost and slaves to sin.  Thank You, Father, for sacrificing Your only Son so that we might be forgiven, redeemed, and saved.  Please help us to fully understand our need of this wonderful gift, our need for Jesus and for what He brings us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our disobedient ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, we need You.  Without You we would have no hope whatsoever.  Without Your guidance, we are lost like sheep with no shepherd.  Without Your love, compassion, and mercy, we would still be slaves to sin, bound in chains by Satan.  Help us, please Lord, to understand our need.  Help us to realize just how limited we are without You.  And please help us to show others that they need You, too.  Help us show them You in our lives, in our love.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Church Leaders

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 19th of January, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The Consistory is the governing body of our church family.  It is charged with seeing to the short-term and long-term needs of the church, its facilities, its resources.  Each year, some folks go off the Consistory and some come on, providing us with continuity yet also with the opportunity for new perspectives.  We elect these good leaders to represent us and call them Elders and Deacons, but there is far more to being an Elder or a Deacon than this.  And there are many more leaders than just the Elders and Deacons.

Let me read to you how the Apostle Paul described church leaders to his young protégé Timothy.  Please listen and follow along to Paul’s words from his 1st letter to Timothy, chapter 3, verses 1 through 13, from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” 2 So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?

6 A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

8 In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. 9 They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. 10 Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons.

11 In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.

12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well. 13 Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

--1 Timothy 3:1-13 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, after Jesus showed him the truth, Paul definitely lived a life beyond reproach and in full service to Jesus.  He was one of the early leaders of the church, starting churches among the Gentiles and laying out the qualifications for a good church leader to follow.  Father, thank You for saving Paul’s writings for us so that we too can follow them.  Please help us to be good leaders, to be above reproach in how we live our lives, to serve Jesus in all we do.

Speak to us now, Father, through Your Spirit, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Show us how we can better serve You and Jesus.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Commanding General and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said:  "In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man's associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose."

Management consultant Peter Drucker offers insightful guidance to the church when he suggests five requirements for those who would lead churches:
(1) a leader works;
(2) a leader sees his assignment as responsibility rather than rank or privilege;
(3) a leader wants strong, capable, self-assured, independent associates;
(4) a leader creates human energies and vision;
(5) a leader develops followers' trust by his own consistency and integrity.


Did you notice that both Eisenhower and Drucker consider personal integrity to be a critical characteristic for a leader?  To lead, one must have followers – people to be led.  If a leader proves untrustworthy, their followers will soon drop out and stop following, stop going where led.

Of course, neither Eisenhower nor Drucker were the first to note the importance of integrity in a leader.  In our scripture reading, the Apostle Paul points out that a church leader must be a person whose life is above reproach.  Now Paul speaks of leaders in masculine terms, primarily because in his day most church leaders were men.  But his qualifications for church leaders applies to everyone, male or female.


Paul calls the role of church leader an honorable position.  And that implies that someone in that role must themselves be honorable.  Personal integrity, and all that goes with it, is vital.

Now notice that most of the characteristics Paul lists are what can be seen by others.  God can see our hearts and we can’t fool him, and it is most important what God sees within us.  But it is also important what other people see in us, what they see us do, how they see us act and interact.  If we have a bad reputation, if we are witnessed doing dishonorable things, why would anyone want to follow our leadership?  This holds true for any leader, but especially for those representing the church, the body of Jesus on earth.


As I mentioned, we elect folks to serve on our Consistory and we call them Elders and Deacons, but there is far more to those positions than that.  Paul gives us the qualifications for those leadership positions, and we can look to the early church for the roles each is intended to fill.  The Apostle Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells of the early church, of Jesus’ followers after He returned to heaven.  Listen to what Luke related in chapter 6 of Acts, verses 1 through 7…

1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Greek-speaking Jews, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

--Acts 6:1-7 (NKJV)

Not long after Pentecost, the original eleven disciples that Jesus called, plus Matthias who replaced Judas, instituted what we now know as the office of Deacons.  Seven men were chosen to see to the physical needs of the people, while the twelve themselves would serve the spiritual needs of the church.  Today, we would see the twelve as being the first Elders, and the seven the first Deacons, as their respective duties evolved into those positions.

Each office has a distinct role in serving Jesus.  Elders are the primary spiritual leaders of the church, also called overseers or pastors or bishops in the New Testament.  They teach and preach the Word while shepherding the souls of those under their care.  Deacons, too, have a crucial role in the life and health of the local church.  They are charged with taking care of the physical and logistical needs of the church so that the Elders can concentrate on its spiritual needs.

Of course, Jesus charged His church with going into the world making disciples, so the responsibilities of Elders and Deacons don’t end at the church walls.  If we follow the early church for its first few hundred years, we can see how the Deacons especially impacted the world in a great and positive way.

In those early years under Roman rule, many Gentiles and most Romans only valued male babies, and those without any discernable deformity.  Sometimes female babies, or any malformed baby, were left out on the doorsteps at night… for the loose dogs to eat.  As Deacons were making their rounds through the communities, seeing to the needs of the believers, they would come across these babies - scared, alone, and crying.  They felt great compassion for these little ones, just as Jesus would have, and took them in and cared for them.  It wasn’t long until the number of babies overwhelmed what the Deacons alone could provide, so they set up a building and got some women to take care of all their little charges.  And thus began the first orphanage.  All those babies started growing and becoming children, children who needed teaching, so the Deacons began another institution, one that became public schools.  And those babies and children and some of the older church members and even others in the community all had health issues, so the Deacons instituted what we know of today as hospitals.  So you can see that the role of Deacon extends beyond the church walls and can have a great effect on the community as a whole.


Luke tells us that when the seven were chosen, the twelve prayed over them and laid hands on them before sending them out to their duties.  We repeat that today, by ordaining a new Deacon.  An Elder is called - chosen by God because of their special gifts for seeing to the needs of people’ souls.  A Deacon is chosen, from among their peers, because of their heart for service.  Once a Deacon always a Deacon, and once an Elder always an Elder.

Now I’m not talking so much about the officers in the church, who we elect to serve on the Consistory, for these serve fixed terms in office, though they are often reelected time and time again.  But if you were elected as a Deacon, you were ordained as a Deacon, or should have been, and that ordination is for all time.  If you were called as an Elder, you will always be an Elder, whether you currently hold that office in the church hierarchy or not.

We each have gifts that are imprinted upon our hearts.  Sometimes it’s easy to see who has the heart of an Elder, and who the heart of a Deacon.  It’s all in your heart.  Elders and Deacons, it is extremely important that you use your gifts, for the vitality of the church and the greater community around us.

All of us can be church leaders, whether an Elder or Deacon or not.  We can lead by the example we live.  We can lead others to Christ.  Let’s all be church leaders.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You endow each of us with gifts we can use in service to You and Your kingdom.  Some of these include skills and traits that make for good leadership.  Thank You, Father, for the gifts You give.  Please help us to recognize our individual gifts and to use them in a way that pleases You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our disobedient ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, during Your ministry on earth, You showed us by Your example what a good leader should be like.  When You spoke, people listened.  Where You traveled, people followed and came from far away to be near You.  You were kind, loving, compassionate, yet You fought injustice and sought mercy.  Help us, please Lord, to follow Your lead.  Help us to be more like You in our dealings with others.  Help us lead with compassion and love, reaching out past our walls into the greater community, expanding our Father’s kingdom.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Master and our Savior.  Amen.

Starting Over

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 12th of January, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Before going on vacation, we talked about how we view the new year as an opportunity to improve ourselves.  And from that we saw how God gives us chance after chance to do just that - to make something better of ourselves.  In our church reading a little while ago we acknowledged that modern life has become so confusing and complex, so full of pressures and stress.

We long for the simpler times, now long past.  We may not be able to change the times, but we can change our lives and how we react to the times.  And who better to tell us how than the Apostle Paul?  Paul did a complete about-face once our Lord Jesus blinded him to the world, opening his eyes to the truth.  He truly became a new person.

Listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, from the 4th chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, verses 17 through 24, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible because it pulls no punches…

17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

20-21 But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about Him and learned about Him. 22 You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please Him and be truly holy.

--Ephesians 4:17-24 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, as a Pharisee, Paul persecuted Your Son’s church, and in doing so actually persecuted Jesus Himself.  But then Jesus showed him the truth of Your kingdom, and he became arguably the most effective and dedicated servant Jesus has ever had.  Father, thank You for giving us so many chances to do better in this life.  Please help to be more like Paul and to serve Jesus more faithfully.  Help us be better disciples, better servants, better people.

Speak to us now, Father, through Your Spirit, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Show us how we can better serve You and Jesus.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Over 2000 years ago, a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied under a respected tutor.  After several years the teacher's efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted an exquisite work of art.  Unfortunately, the pupil became so enraptured with the painting that he spent days doing little more than gazing at it.  One morning when he arrived to admire his work, he was shocked to find it blotted out with paint.  Angry, Timanthes ran to his teacher, who admitted he had destroyed the painting.  "I did it for your own good", the teacher replied.  "That painting was retarding your progress.  Start again and see if you can do better."  Timanthes took his teacher's advice and produced "Sacrifice of Iphigenia", which is regarded as one of the finest paintings of antiquity.


Timanthes created a beautiful painting that he himself greatly admired, to the point of neglecting other areas of his studies and life.  To break the spell the painting held over the young student, his teacher ruined it, destroyed its beauty.  And then he challenged his pupil to start all over again, and make it even better than before.

Sometimes we take too much pride in our own accomplishments.  We get so caught up in what we’ve done that we forget who makes anything we do possible.  Our Bible tells us to be humble, that pride can be our downfall.  And like the teacher in this little story, our Bible tells us this for our own good.

God gives us the chance to start over and make things even better than before.  Of course, sometimes He has to ruin what we had, so that we can strive even harder, to make it better, to make ourselves better.


A couple weeks ago in the scripture I read, Paul explained his conversion to King Agrippa.  He told the king of the old Paul, who persecuted those who followed Jesus, arresting them and bringing them to trial, even voting for their execution.  And then he told of the new Paul, the faithful servant of Jesus, the church planter, the evangelist.  So we can see that Paul is not only a great example of how God gives us second chances, but also how to use those extra chances, how to shed the old life and fully adopt the new life.

In our scripture reading this morning, Paul takes the next step and tells us how we should respond to our second chances, how our new life should differ from the old life we used to live.  And he does not hold back.

Stop living like stupid, godless people, lost and stumbling around in the dark, not knowing wrong from right, letting greed overwhelm moral decency.  We know better than that now.  We’ve been told the truth about Jesus.  He sacrificed Himself so that God would give us another chance to get it right.  We know that our foolish desires will eventually destroy our chance of salvation if we don’t let go of them, if we don’t let go of the old way of living and put on the new life we’ve been so graciously given.  We were created in the image of God and Jesus, created to be like Them, so we should do everything we can to please Them and to be truly holy, truly righteous, right in God’s eyes.

Paul doesn’t stop there in his instructions to us.  Listen as I continue reading from where I left off in chapter 4 of his letter, verses 25 through 32…

25 We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26 Don’t get so angry that you sin. Don’t go to bed angry 27 and don’t give the devil a chance.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.

29 Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.

30 Don’t make God’s Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.

31 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32 Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

--Ephesians 4:25-32 (CEV)

That’s a whole bunch of stops and starts there.  Stop doing all these things from the old life, start doing these things to show the new life.  Let’s face it…  if we keep on acting the same way as those folks who have not accepted the truth, who have not accepted Jesus as Lord, then how will anyone be able to tell the difference between us and them?

We must stop lying, control our anger before it leads to sin, don’t steal, stop talking bad about others, don’t be bitter, don’t be rude, and certainly don’t make God sad by our thoughtless lives.  Instead, we should tell each other nothing but the truth, especially the truth of Jesus and God’s kingdom.  We should work hard so that we’ll have something to share with others.  We should be sure that anything we say is said in love and intended to help others, to lift them up.  We must be kind, merciful, and forgiving of others, for God is kind, merciful, and forgiving of us.


Now this concept of letting go of the old life and clothing ourselves in the new life Jesus gives is not entirely a New Testament message or unique to Paul.  We see something similar in the Old Testament writings of the prophet Amos, chapter 7 verses 7 and 8, and to a lesser degree in 2nd Kings chapter 21 verse 13 and Isaiah chapter 28 verse 17.  In these we’re told that God uses a plumb line to measure us.

Do you know what a plumb line is?  You suspend a weight from a string and let it hang.  No matter the terrain, no matter the elevation, no matter where you are or what you’re on, that line will always hang straight and true.  God measures us by a straight and true line.  If there is anything out of plumb in our lives, we need to tear it down and rebuild it.  We need to get rid of the old and start new again.

We must stop fixating on past glories and accomplishments and do something new and better.  Our Lord has given us the chance to be new again.  Let’s take full advantage of it.  Put off the old, put on the new.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we want to be more like Paul.  We want to serve You and Jesus faithfully, with all our heart.  We want to be the new person that You have given us the chance to become.  But Father, sometimes we just have trouble completely throwing off the old life.  There are some things we just can’t force ourselves to let go of.  Thank You, Father, for giving us another chance to truly be new.  Please help us let go of the world and our old way of living so that we can better serve You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our disobedient ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, You showed Paul the truth and he became a new man, an entirely different person, in full and complete service to You.  Help us, please Lord, to be like Paul.  Help us throw off the old person, the old life, and take on the new life You have given us.  Help us live only for You.  This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Master and our Savior.  Amen.