Tag Archives: Jesus

G*d’s Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, Messiah, Savior

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 25, 2015
Tags: , , Jesus   

You Are Free — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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October 25, 2015, Reformation Sunday

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:31 – 36

“If we are ever to enter fully into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, we are going to have to spend more time thinking about freedom than we do. The church, by and large, has had a poor record of encouraging freedom. She has spent so much time inculcating in us the fear of making mistakes that she had made us like ill-taught piano students; we play our songs, but we never really hear them, because our main concern is not to make music, but to avoid some flub that will get us in dutch. She has been so afraid we will lose sight of the laws of our nature, that she made us care more about how we look than about who we are; made us act more like the subjects of a police state than fellow citizens of the saints.

It is essential that you see this clearly. The Apostle is saying that you, and Paul, and I have been sprung. Right now; not next week, or at the end of the world. And unconditionally, with no probation officer to report to. But that means that we have finally come face to face with the one question we have always thought we were aching to hear but that we now realize we have scrupulously ducked every time it got within a mile of us. What would you do with freedom if you had it? Only now it is posed to you not in the subjunctive but in the indicative: You are free. What do you plan to do?” (from Robert Capon in Between Noon and Three.)

You are free. You are free now. Today. Yes one day we will be free from pain, death, loss, suffering, etc., but there are ways that we can look at and live into our freedom right now. The first thing we should do is identify the ways that we are held hostage – by our jobs, by our wants You Are and needs, by our desires, and so on. We are just as capable of living holy lives as butchers, bakers and computer makers as we are if we all go to seminary. So if we are free, we need to live in that manner.

But we also need to remember who makes us free – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ makes us free right now – free to love, to serve, to hate, to judge – it is an unprecedented freedom, but it is a spiritual freedom. So what will you do with your spiritual freedom today – and how will you be an instrument of freedom to someone you meet?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 19, 2015
Tags: Jesus, ,   

The Light of Christ Will Lead You — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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October 19, 2015

“I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:100-105

“During World War II, small compasses saved the lives of 27 sailors 300 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Waldemar Semenov, a retired merchant seaman, was serving as a junior engineer aboard the SS Alcoa Guide when a German submarine surfaced and opened fire on the ship. The ship was hit, caught fire, and began to sink. Semenov and his crew lowered compass-equipped lifeboats into the water and used the compasses to guide them toward the shipping lanes closer to shore. After three days, the men were rescued. The psalmist reminded God’s people that His Word was a trustworthy “compass.” He likened it to a lamp. In that day, the flickering light cast by an olive oil lamp was only bright enough to show a traveler his next step. To the psalmist, God’s Word was such a lamp, providing enough light to illuminate the path for those pursuing God (Ps. 119:105). When the psalmist was wandering in the dark on a chaotic path of life, he believed that God, through the guidance of His Word, would provide direction.

When we lose our bearings in life, we can trust our God who gives His trustworthy Word as our compass, using it to lead us into deeper fellowship with Him.” (Our Daily Bread devotions, G*d’s Compass, September 15, 2015)

Have you ever been out late at night, or hiking in the woods when suddenly you realize that you are lost – that you have lost your bearings? There is nothing more frightening than the feeling that you are lost, and there is no one around to help you gain your bearing. And there is nothing more frightening than to be lost at sea, at night, without a compass, an oar, or a light. I am always amazed when I go to the beach, and sit there and look out onto the vast ocean. It is an amazing sight during the day, it is an awesome sight at night because the vastness of the ocean is magnified by the darkness. And as I gaze out upon the ocean, I am able to pick out one or two pin-pricks of light way off in the distance. As a child, I used to sit and look at these lights and wonder how far away they were — and who was at the other end of the light.

I remember the story of a young gal who was traveling with her parents in an airplane when it crashed at night, killing both her parents — but she survived. She knew instinctively that she needed to leave the sight of the crash and try to find some help. In the darkness she saw a small light off in the distance. She began to walk, and walk, through difficult and dangerous terrain without shoes for she had lost her shoes in the plane crash. But what kept her going was that light off in the distance – for she believed that it would lead her to someone who could help.

The word of G*d is a light in the darkness of the world, a word that continues to lead us and guide us — even when all else seems to be transient and fails us over time. Jesus told the world that he is the light of the world, and if we follow his light, his teachings and his love, they will be the compass that will guide us throughout our lives.

Pastor Dave