We are a mix of all kinds of things on our inside. We know our bodies are mostly water. Anywhere from 50 to 60 percent on average. We’re made up of fat, muscle and bone. There are millions of microorganisms crawling around in and on us, generally good ones. On an emotional level we have happiness and sadness, instincts good and bad.

We also “carry around in our body the death of Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:10). That’s the way the Apostle Paul sees it under inspiration of . . . . the Spirit as he reflects on how fragile we are as we minister with the gospel. In our body is the death of Jesus.

No one likes to think about “death” being inside them (although in a way that’s true physically for us all!). This is a special death. The death of Jesus. All that means is that we will also go through some level of persecution and suffering while we share the light of Christ in this world. Philippians 3:10 says something similar: I want to know Christ—yes, … and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

This is always the case. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, is how it’s put in our Bible verse from 2 Corinthians. Living the light of the gospel will most definitely involve hardship of some kind. Let’s not be too surprised by that!

However, there are a couple wonderful blessings that come out of this. First, if we, the messengers, are less glorious, that just points people more to the glory of the gospel message. And that’s where we want them to look anyway. Second, if we participate in his death, we will also participate in his life. The full Bible verse from above is as follows: We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. Carrying around Jesus’ death all the time isn’t so bad when life with Jesus is ours through faith, and his full life for us in heaven is right around the corner.

One of the bedrocks of our legal system is the Sixth Amendment, which states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, … and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ….” We take it for granted that that’s how it should work. We shouldn’t be convicted without a trial, or without at least knowing what the charges are. We would consider that a basic human right, even if it’s not practiced everywhere around the world.

Job must have been thinking along those lines after going through so much loss and suffering without any explanation that he could come up with. His friends basically told him it was his fault for . . . . some sin or sins he had committed. Job didn’t think so, but he was confused to the point of challenging God to answer: Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing. (Job 31:35)

And then God spoke in chapter 38, and did answer him. But it wasn’t really an answer as Job (or we) might expect. There never is a direct explanation of why. The Lord’s first words are a question: Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? (38:2). And then a whole long series of questions, like Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand (38:4). The answer was roughly, “You’re a human, and there are many things that you are not able to understand, even if I do.”
God did not support Job’s friends’ accusations that Job was being punished for his sins, but neither did he give Job a reason as to why this was happening. A reminder of the truth of Romans 11:33: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

God is gracious and compassionate to us at all times! If the “why” is not always available to us, that doesn’t mean his care is less. His grace is as strong as ever, even when we go through the trials of life. His love and salvation and forgiveness in Christ never change. If we’re not able to “look behind the curtain” and always get an explanation for everything that happens to us, that’s ok. The “not knowing” leads us to more peace and trust in God’s loving guidance of all things: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

How often do you express your thanks for oxygen? For your hands and feet? For your oven at home? For roads? There’s no doubt we’re thankful for all the good things in life, but some don’t regularly rise to the level of our consciousness because they’re so common. They’re just always there. But life would be so different without them.

The gospel message sometimes makes its way onto that list. The gospel is working invisibly, and it’s working all the time. It’s such a regular and common force in the world that . . . . we may not often take a moment to recognize its enormous impact.

There are times when the results of the gospel are clearly there. In Acts we see 120 believers (1:15), then about 3,000 more (2:41), then 5,000 just counting the men (4:4). The message of Christ quickly spread into Samaria (8:25) and Antioch (11:21) among other places. Then there are times the gospel doesn’t seem to be producing such a harvest, or the church even seems to be in decline. But it’s always going out according to God’s purpose.

The Apostle Paul and his companion in ministry, Timothy, first give thanks for the faith and love of their brothers and sisters in Christ. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people (Colossians 1:3-4). Then they go on to recognize how it is that they are united in faith and love. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. (Colossians 1:6). The gospel!

Maybe consider adding to your prayers this week a heartfelt one for the gospel that brought you and so many others to faith in Christ. You can’t go wrong in giving thanks for the gospel. It’s hard at work every second of every day!

When Christians look out on the trends and events of our world, the view is often not positive. Countries are stirring up trouble. There are people who choose violence to get their way. Church attendance appears to be in a slow decline. Hundreds of discouraging images and upsetting concerns can flood our hearts and minds (especially if we overly indulge in them).

There is an explanation for all this. The devil appears in the opening verses of Revelation, chapter 20, as a dragon (a large and fierce enemy), a serpent (a deceiver), the devil (the “slanderer”), and Satan (the “accuser”). There is no doubt that this powerful being is bent only on our downfall by . . . . whatever means possible. And this powerful being is often successful.

But we take heart! The dragon has been bound. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:2)

The “binding” happened when Jesus arrived in the world, taught the freeing gospel of forgiveness through baptism and faith in him, died, rose and ascended. He described his own ministry as “entering into a strong man’s (the devil’s) house” and “tying him up” (Mark 3:27).

For a thousand years the dragon is bound. The thousand years is a symbol for basically the entire New Testament from Jesus’ time on earth to right around his second coming. And being bound means that the devil is not able to stamp out the message of the gospel. He’s still active. But the gospel continues to spread throughout that whole time until the end, bringing peace, hope and salvation to all who believe.

So as you look out at the world, see not only the work of the dragon, but also the wonderful and powerful work of Jesus’ gospel message. The strength of the gospel reminds us that the final victory is the Lord’s!

We wouldn’t dream of trying to keep the entire law given to Moses in the Old Testament. It wouldn’t be possible, and we know that it’s not required of believers after the death and resurrection of Christ. But some occasionally wonder about the Sabbath day command since it is part of the Ten Commandments. Should we still go to church on Saturday and avoid work that day?

I’ve been “evangelized” a few times by zealous and probably well-meaning members of Christian churches that still preach obedience to parts of the Old Testament law of Moses. They generally started their “evangelizing” by . . . . promoting a following of the Old Testament Sabbath Day even for New Testament Christians. Meaning primarily the requirement, in their opinion, to go to worship services and refrain from work on Saturdays. If you worship on Sundays rather than Saturdays, that is not good enough from their point of view. And if you have a job, you definitely are not allowed to keep a job that involves Saturday hours.

We still follow the Ten Commandments, don’t we? Yes and no. Yes, the same principles as they are repeated in the New Testament. No, not in the same exact form as God gave them through Moses. The Ten Commandments in their Old Testament form are part of the law of Moses, the guardian we are no longer under since the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:23-25).

The book of Colossians also makes this clear specifically related to the Sabbath, the day of rest: 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

How can we “rest” in New Testament times? The Sabbath law was heavily focused on physical rest, and a pause in working, buying and selling. We can certainly do the same. We can have a reasonable amount of time every week that is not dedicated to production, making money, and spending money. Time for family and friends, health, relaxation, and leisure. The Old Testament Sabbath also included remembrance of God’s great works for his people: the creation of the world (Exodus 20:11), the freeing from slavery in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:10-15), and the people’s belonging to the Lord (Exodus 31:12-13). We, too, remember God’s grace to us as we spend time in the Word and prayer, gather together to encourage one another in the faith, and worship as a church family.

It's not as regulated, and there is not a specific day, but in the New Testament we have just as great a need to “rest” physically and spiritually as we look ahead to the eternal rest in heaven through faith in Jesus!

The phrase “from the top down” is often used to denote a hierarchical system of management or governance. The will and beliefs and directives of those “at the top” are imposed—sometimes aggressively, sometimes even oppressively—on those below. From the top down.

In the season of Pentecost we will see that Christianity is very much a top-down faith. Christian teachings come “from the top down,” but not in the sense that those teachings are oppressively imposed on us. When we call Christianity a “top-down faith,” we mean that it tells us things about God that are so beautiful and good—teachings that couldn’t possibly have originated from human thinking. The Christian faith contains teachings that are so wonderful that we would never even believe them unless God himself revealed their truthfulness to us. So, God sent his Spirit from heaven to earth—from the top down—to empower his children to believe that which would otherwise be totally unbelievable.

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

Who are the people you want standing by your side when you face all that goes on in the world?

That idea of a person standing by your side is a powerful one, and one we need to have for ourselves as we walk through life. The Holy Spirit is described in just that way in the gospel of John when Jesus promises to send the Spirit to his disciples after he departs for heaven. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)

You know a word is not easy to translate when it appears in several different versions in the translations! Along with “Advocate,” as we have it above, you can find “Friend,” “Helper,” . . . . “Counselor,” “Comforter,” “Encourager,” “Intercessor,” “Defender,” and likely more. Some don’t even try to pin it down to one English word and just use “the Paraclete,” which is a literal English version of the original Greek word.

The basic meaning is “someone called to your side to help you.” The Holy Spirit is sent to take over Jesus’ work, so much of what Jesus did for his disciples while he was with them continues on through the Holy Spirit. His teaching and reminding. His consoling them in trouble. His defending of them against the devil and fear with the promise of forgiveness and salvation. The disciples would not be without God as their companion. The Holy Spirit would be at their side to aid them in every need.

Unfortunately, there has been a huge growth over the last decades in using the name of the Spirit to back up all sorts of odd and unbiblical teaching and practices in some churches. The work of the Spirit when Jesus promised to send him is not to bring about all kinds of strange outward signs. The work of the Spirit as Jesus spoke about it is mainly on the inside:  

8When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)

Where there are people who are convicted and believe in God’s view of sin, righteousness in Christ, and judgment, there is the Holy Spirit beside them working in them to bring them to salvation.