Men's Breakfast

The confession of the early church was simply- Jesus is Lord. And it is His lordship that Jesus chose as the focus of His final interaction with religious leaders as they conspired to kill Him.

DoyouloveGod with your entire being- Do you genuinely love others- To ask such questions and answer them honestly lays bare our souls... revealing what matters most to us. Don't you think--You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength... -and- you shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandmentgreater than these.- Mark 12-30-31 -NKJV-ForJesus,therequirementsofthe law of God cannot be fulfilled withrigidlegalism,nor with religious rituals, nor even personal sacrifice. Allcanbedonewith insincerity, without love. And yet without love toward God, and love toward others, even the most religious people remain outside the kingdom of God. Jesus spoke these difficult words just days before He would demonstrate the ultimate love toward God, and the greatest love toward sinful people like us. Born in sin, we need a completely new heart in order to love God, then others, rightly. This is the miracle of the new birth.

The gospel does not compel Christians to isolate themselves from their earthly community and its government. Yet many do. The gospel does not compel Christians to war against the evils in their community and government by political and other means. But many do. Such extremes are common among Christians living in a world that is opposed to Jesus. When it comes to relating to the -outside- - it's often either flight or fight. Jesus calls us to neither. The gospel compels us not to flight, not to fight- but to faith. -Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.- Mark 12-17 -NKJV- As He held up a despised Roman coin, Jesus made it clear to God's people that even an evil earthly kingdom is used to accomplish His good purposes and must be honored. His followers are called to participate in civic life and be the best citizens in their community, not those who retreat from the community. But the honor due an earthly kingdom has its limits- it is not to receive the worship due to God alone. How does Jesus' teaching inform a Christian perspective on paying taxes- What are the responsibilities of Christians to their human government- Is there a danger in our country for citizens to worship political leaders- How do we balance patriotism with allegiance to God-

I was visiting with a friend who is struggling through significant and unexpected family turmoil. The circumstances are causing her to reach out to find help from her Lord. She even said, -I'm growing in ways I didn't expect to grow. I'm learning to have peace in ways I thought I already had peace.- Just like all of us who love Him, the Lord isn't finished until we're in glory. In fact, the Apostle Paul reminds all of us who have had that veil of unbelief removed, that we are being transformed into His glorious image - from one state of glory to the next. By His sovereign grace, God is transforming His beloved saints everyday - Paul writes, - - but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.- 2 Cor 4-16b Christians are realists - even though we see and experience the evidences of decay in this fallen world, yet we look forward, with hope, as we experience daily renewal-

Men's Breakfast

I ran into a friend on Memorial Day- a lady who had been through many recent trials with crazy circumstances. She wondered how God could allow such things. In fact, -Why would things like this happen at all-- she asked. After some visiting, she shared her response to the circumstances- -I'm mad at God right now.- mWe've all had variations of this same response, including the Apostle Paul. And when he asked, -Why-- he learned that it was - - - so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.- -2 Cor 4-11- Later in 2 Corinthians, Jesus told Him that -power is perfected in weakness.-Each of us born into God's kingdom have been given the -Light of life- - the indwelling presence of the Son of God. Our Christian lives are about God's life being expressed outwardly in ever increasing ways.

Imagine being desperately sick and-having taken life-sustaining medicine for-months, you find out it was a placebo- A-fake drug- It has no power at all- What you-were depending on for healing was-actually having no benefit at all. It just-made you feel good that you were taking-something.-The Apostle Paul was facing a similar-problem. Preachers of a fake Christianity-- a fake gospel, which wasn't good news-at all, were enchanting the church in-Corinth. And to make matters worse, they-were accusing Paul of proclaiming an-antiquated and culturally irrelevant-message saying he twisted scripture to-his own benefit- But Paul knew he had-received the mercy of God in the face of-Jesus- and God called him to bring others-into this same mercy ---Therefore, since we have this-ministry, as we received mercy, we do-not lose heart,- 2 Cor 4-1 NASB-As a recipient of this wonderful mercy,-Paul was emboldened and empowered to-tirelessly preach the true gospel of God.-The powerful gospel of mercy found in-Jesus Christ. Please read through 2 Cor 3-- 4, meditating on 2 Cor 4-1-6 as we-prepare our hearts to receive wonderful-things from our God this Sunday.

God plants His people in the world with great expectations -His glory. These expectations are not rooted in us, but Him. God plans, protects and provides all that is needful for His people to fulfill His purposes. Consider the example of Israel- God even sent warnings to His people whenever they'd strayed from Him, using many prophets over the centuries to call the nation back to Himself. That's why Jesus spoke such strong words of judgment to Israel's religious leaders- they'd continued a legacy of rejecting God's messengers, even as they prepared to murder His final Messenger- the Son of God Himself. Israel was expected to bear fruit for God's glory, but failed to do so -and He judged them severely.-He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.- Mark 12-9 -NKJV- Today, God still is patient toward those who ignore, or flat-out reject, His purpose for their lives. But His longsuffering has its end- those who remain in opposition to Him are in serious peril.