"The Weekly Word"

    But far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14 

                You have a separate set of rules. That’s what our mantra as Christians actually is when you think about it. It’s just not everybody has the same idea of what that means. How do we tell people about Jesus, live Jesus’s message out, allow him to open our heart daily so we continue to look for him and follow him.

                We are called to do this, all the while forging our way and being part of a world which calls us to completely contrary ways. And we ourselves can be enticed by those ways and often may actually want to be without even realizing it.

                Likewise we are pulled by the church which has different ideas of how to proclaim Jesus to the world. Some of us want to verbally share him. Some of us want to silently live out the message. Some of us want to do either, or some of us want to do neither. Many times even as we attend church, we find ourselves existing, not living even in our faith because we’re not quite sure what exactly it means to hold a light of faith today.

                Dear friends, it’s okay. Take heart, Jesus faced divided people when he preached, and he still showed and shined his love somehow bringing people together. His message is reflected in our verse for today from the Apostle Paul to the Galatian Church. He wants this church of believers to remember they are called to live and die with Jesus’s life, not pursuing the ways of the world, ever! Yes, Paul realizes they might be divided and they might mess up, but he’s reminding them his joy is not boasting, being defined in his speech or thoughts in anything else but the love and message of Jesus. TO that end, he is asking them to live and die with Jesus, and to enjoy doing that in everything they do in the world or in the church!

                My prayer is that we too can boast in Jesus and be confident in our conviction. So how can we do that? Anyway we can! We can tell people yes, but we should be living out that message in all ways. Telling people about our Savior and then being contrary with our actions will lead us and others down a dark path, and potentially to total separation from Christ at least for a time.

                May we as people, enjoy somehow Christ has been crucified, but still lives for us. Let us enjoy somehow also being willing to risk ourselves, to be okay with the cost of being a Christian. My prayer is we all would never forget, even in our weakness, to be okay with resting upon Jesus’s ways and following him with everything we’ve got. And if we do, then hey, the different rules we have for the world won’t feel so frustrating, they will fill us with blessings!

To God be the glory   Pastor Brandon