Forum Home | Log in | Signup | My Page | Rules | FAQ | Boards | Members | Search
« FFFT Home | Email msg. | Reply to msg. | Post new | Board info. Previous | Home | Next

The Daily Devotional

By: joe-taylor in FFFT | Recommend this post (0)
Mon, 01 Apr 13 11:50 AM | 48 view(s)
Boardmark this board | Food For Further Thought 		Msg. 51224 of 65535
(This msg. is a reply to 51213 by joe-taylor)
Jump:
Jump to board:
Jump to msg. #

Excerpt from Revelation 1:4-8

"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come . . . to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen."

Kenneth L. Samuel

We might think that after the glorious celebrations of the Resurrection, it would be counter-productive to recall and recount the stark realities of the crucifixion. And perhaps the last place one would look to be reminded of the cruel calamities of the cross would be in the superlative visions of Christ glorified and the Church Triumphant, as recorded in John’s Revelation. Yet, even as John reveals to us the Christ who is utterly victorious over death, hell and the grave, John will not allow us to deny the truth of Jesus’ death nor to escape our responsibility for Jesus’ suffering. John insists that even as we look upon the ultimate, eternal triumph of God’s only begotten Son, we do not neglect or erase our contributions to his death:

"Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen."

Even in the celebration of our victories, there must be a sobering accountability for our ethical behavior. This is the reason why the injustices of the past are never really behind us. Genocide… slavery… imperialism… apartheid… the Holocaust… ruthless nationalism… institutionalized sexism and hetero-sexism… these injustices cannot and should never be erased from human consciousness. How could we ever live into the new realm of Christ if we forgot the injustices that necessitated our new beginning? Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.

Prayer

Dear Lord, we are grateful for all the sins and mistakes of our past that you have allowed us to overcome. Now please help us to not dismiss the dark places we’ve been so that we will know where we must never go again. Amen.

About the Author
Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia


To say that "God exists" is the greatest understatement ever made across space and time.

» You can also:
- - - - -
The above is a reply to the following message:
Re: Spring Cleaning!
By: joe-taylor in FFFT
Sun, 31 Mar 13 2:40 PM 		Msg. 51213 of 65535

The Gospel in Seven Words or Less


"He is not here, He is risen." Matthew 28: 6


Last year, the Christian Century magazine posed this question to writers: "What would you say is the core of the gospel? Can you state it in seven words or less?"

What an enormous question. But on this Easter Sunday how would you answer it?

The editors did add that we could follow our seven words with 75 words of explanation. But 75 words are not a lot. To put it in perspective, the average daily devotional is 250 words.

So on this Easter Sunday, how would you sum up the gospel in seven words? To help answer that question, let me share the additional instructions that the editors gave us about those 75 words of explaination. "This isn't a place to add a lot of abstract theological language nor is it an opportunity to say 'here's what I DON'T mean by choosing that phrase.' Instead, expand on your seven word version by stating positively and plainly what it means and why it's the core of the gospel."

Can you do that? Can you state "positively and plainly" the core of the gospel? If God is still speaking, we need to be able to speak too.

The writers did a lovely job with the assignment, but my favorites came from the responses from readers who offered a wonderful mix of perspectives. You can find them at www.christiancentury.org but here are just a few:

Love God. Love Others. Love Yourself. Serve.

Sin destroys life; Jesus resurrects it.

God loves you, so get over yourself.

And as for my own, here's what I came up with: Everybody gets to grow and change.

But today, it strikes me that the best short version of the gospel is the traditional back and forth litergical dialogue we engage in on Easter mornings. Let's have it be our seven word gospel prayer for this new day.


Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!


Lillian Daniel is Senior Minister, First Congregational Church, UCC, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

« FFFT Home | Email msg. | Reply to msg. | Post new | Board info. Previous | Home | Next