A Jewish father was concerned about his son who was about a year away from his Bar Mitzvah but was sorely lacking in his knowledge of the Jewish faith. To remedy this, he sent his son to Israel to experience his heritage. A year later the young man returned home. "Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers," the son said. "It was wonderful and enlightening, however, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity." "Oy vey!," replied the father, "what have I done?" So in the tradition of the patriarchs he went to his best friend and sought his advice and some solace. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated his friend, "I also sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian!" So in the tradition of the patriarchs they went to the Rabbi. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated the Rabbi, "I also sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian! What is happening to our sons? "Brothers, we must take this to the Lord," said the Rabbi. They fell to their knees and began to wail and pour out their hearts to the Almighty. As they prayed, the clouds above opened above them and a mighty voice said, "Amazing that you should call on Me. I, too, sent My Son to Israel. . . ."
<>< Kingdom DJ
Isn't it amazing how we turn the simple into the complex whether in sports, work, government or faith? We pile on layer and layer of complexity and confusion. In verse 9 the way of salvation is laid out in all its simplicity, "...if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." No merit of our own, no special ritual, no special form of religiosity - just faith! And even that is ours only as a gift of the Holy Spirit. A sermon illustration I found online - Karl Barth was asked to summerize his massive work in systematic theology. He said, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." What more can we say? Jeff in NY
Back in the 70's-80's, Pat Terry recorded a contemporary Christian song titled "You Got Those Feet." In it, he tells believers, "You hit the street, that's where those feet belong." Even though the OT verse quoted is referring to the coming of those who proclaim good news (gospel!), I love the image of Terry's song, and I think it has relevance to this passage. If we truly confess and believe, we will be motivated to share this really good news (gospel!) with a world that doesn't know it. God bless you, and have a great Sunday! Ken in WV
08 August 1999 23:04 What a friend we have in Jesus! Paul's explanation of the plan of salvation is explicit and short. But how can people believe unless they hear? Hear what? The good news of the coming Kingdom of God, our place in it as the children of God, siblings of Jesus, workers in His kingdom. Not sitting on clouds in heaven strumming harps and watching those below! That's counterfeit claptrap, pagan mystery stuff! There's no mystery about God's plan of salvation and Christ's return to this earth to reign in glory. Tell it like it is and pull down the counterfeiters. Our destiny is so much greater than they tell that it's awesome.
08 August 1999 23:04 What a friend we have in Jesus! Paul's explanation of the plan of salvation is explicit and short. But how can people believe unless they hear? Hear what? The good news of the coming Kingdom of God, our place in it as the children of God, siblings of Jesus, workers in His kingdom. Not sitting on clouds in heaven strumming harps and watching those below! That's counterfeit claptrap, pagan mystery stuff! There's no mystery about God's plan of salvation and Christ's return to this earth to reign in glory. Tell it like it is and pull down the counterfeiters. Our destiny is so much greater than they tell that it's awesome. Jim Yellville, AR