As the Family of God, we need to know each other. We are told that we should weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, Romans 12:15. We are also to bear one another’s burdens, Galatians 6:2. In addition to these, we are to think of others more highly than ourselves, pray for one another, treat others as we would want to be treated, and express brotherly love and kindness among other good things. In order to do these things we have to share our lives with each other.

In hopes of helping us to grow closer as a family we are going to get to know a different family each week through our bulletin article. I am hoping that each week as you read about other members you will know them a little better and feel a little closer as a result. I hope that each week I can provide you with some interesting facts that you didn’t know about your fellow brothers and sisters at Blue Ridge. Of course, I am looking forward to getting to know you all better as a result of these interviews and articles as well.

In both Ephesians 6:22 and Colossians 4:8 Paul tells these churches that he is sending some one to tell them how he and his companions are doing and that this person will encourage them. There is encouragement in sharing with others how we are and how they are and having something in common as we do in the church can certainly be encouraging as well. Knowing others care about us and that they are thinking of us and praying for us is not just helpful when catastrophe strikes, but all of the time.

Let’s get to know one another better so that we can better encourage one another, help one another, be closer to one another, and pray for one another. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul says there is coming a time when we will know fully, but for now we only know in part. Let’s try to know as big a part as we can until we can know fully.

It is always good to have a little evidence that a promise will be fulfilled. We like a down payment on something we are selling, an earnest check on a house sale, free taste tests of foods before we buy, a try it before you buy it, and many other things like that. It should come as no surprise, then, that we would really like something to help us trust some of God’s promises, too. He has promised many things in the past that came to pass already, but we still wonder about the future promises sometimes. 

God has promised eternal life. He has promised that even if we die he will raise us back to life. Does he give us a free sample to help encourage us? Yes, he has. He raised Jesus from the dead to show us that he has the power and the desire to raise us as well. Jesus being raised from the dead is referred to as the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” in 1 Corinthians 15:20. Now if y’all have read your Bibles then y’all know that Jesus was not the first person to come back from the dead. There were even people in the Old Testament that were brought back to life hundreds of years before Jesus was on Earth. Jesus even during his ministry raised some people from the dead, so why is he the firstfruits instead of any of them? The simple answer is that there is something unique about his resurrection.

All of the people in the Bible who rose from the grave died again, except Jesus, who rose to never die again. That is why his resurrection is so much more important than the others and that is why we can trust God when he promises us resurrection and eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection is the free taste test. His is the down payment. Rom 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” 

His resurrection is also a promise of Judgment day. Act 17:31  because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Are you ready to be raised like Jesus at the last day? 

Freedom can be a wonderful thing that is often not appreciated until it is lost. Paul warns the Galatians of this danger in chapter 5 verse 1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Christ rescued us from being slaves both of the old law as Paul is referencing in this chapter and also of sin as Romans 6:7,22 and 8:2 teach. 

It is terrible that so many times those who are freed turn back to the slavery the came out of or turn to some new form of slavery. The Israelites who came out of Egypt whined to return to Egypt and when that didn’t happen they enslaved themselves to sin by worshiping the golden calf. They didn’t appreciate their freedom. Within 2 generations of entering the promised land they had fallen into slavery again to some of the inhabitants of the land that they should have conquered and driven out or killed. How sad that they were now slaves in the land that God had intended for them to rule.

The same can happen to us after being made free from the law of Moses and free from sin. As Paul says to the Galatians we were set free for freedom. He is concerned that even though they are supposed to be free they might go back to the law and be enslaved again. Christ set us free so that we could live a life freely devoted to serving God. Stories are told of those who would go to the slave auctions and buy slaves to set them free. On one occasion when the newly-freed, former slave realized what had happened he told those who had emancipated him, “I will serve you for the rest of my life”. 

Christ has freed you at the cost of leaving Heaven, becoming human, and dying a cruel death won’t you serve him for the rest of your life?

There are 3 passages in the New Testament that discuss Christ as our deliverer. Let’s consider each of them.

In Romans 7:24, after describing the human inability to overcome sin on his own, Paul asks, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The answer for all who are unable to deliver themselves is made abundantly clear throughout the New Testament: Jesus Christ. So first we see that Jesus can deliver us from our own sinfulness.

Paul addresses the issue again in Galatians 1:3-5 where he explains that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. Here we see that Jesus not only delivers us from our own sinfulness, but rescues or delivers us from the evil all around us in this wicked world.

In the final passage, Hebrews 2:14-15, We see humans enslaved not just by their sinfulness, but also by the fear that they will have to face physical death. Christ is shown becoming flesh and blood like us and then facing physical death so that he could destroy the devil and his power of death. In the process of that he delivers all of us from having to be afraid of death because seeing him conquer the grave gives us the confidence and courage to face our own graves knowing that he can raise us up.

How much of your life have you spent being afraid of death and even enslaved by that fear? Death is not our friend, but Christ has conquered it and we don’t have to fear this enemy any longer. Have you allowed Christ to deliver you from yourself, the evil world around you, and the fear of death? Let him be your deliverer.

​As any Bible believer who created the world and they will likely give the same simple answer: God. On several occasions the New Testament puts forward the claim that Christ is God and one of the statements made about that assertion is that he created the world. Paul explains this in Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” 

Not only are we created by him/ through him, we were also created for him. Sometimes we miss this, at least, we act like we do. Some of us act and speak as if Christ is here for us and what ever we need or think we need he will get for us like he is a genie in a lamp with unlimited wishes and we can just tell him what to do. None of us would probably openly admit to it, but our actions and words sometimes betray us.

We have to remember that the creation is to serve the creator and not the other way around. The creator can make us as he chooses to serve whatever purpose he chooses and the creation has no right to complain. Isaiah 29:16; Jeremiah 18:4-6; and Romans 9:21 all liken it to a potter with some clay making whatever he wants. The clay can’t say anything about it. 

So, if we were created for him, what does he want us to do? He is God, so he doesn’t need us. He is not served with human hands as though he needs something, Acts 17:25. Humans make things for all kinds of purposes, but ultimately everything we make is so that we can enjoy it. Christ made us to bring him joy and glory and if we want to please him we must do whatever he commands us. If we will do what he commands we can become more than just a creation we can become a friend. 

Let’s serve our creator with our whole heart. He deserves all the praise, obedience, and honor we can give and so much more.

​In Revelation 19:11-16 there is a vision of Christ riding out on a white horse to make war and conquer Satan’s forces. Of course, it is all just a formality, really, since Jesus defeated Satan through his death and resurrection. It seems odd to think of someone winning by dying, but that was the way God had it planned.

In conquering Satan, Christ saved us from the fear of death and from enslavement to sin. As we remember our country’s military sacrifice on Memorial Day, it seems appropriate to think about how they made it possible for us to live in safety without fear of death or capture at the hands of a human enemy. Of course Christ’s conquering goes far beyond human war and human enemies, to our greatest foe, Satan and his desire to have us spend eternity in Hell with him.

In addition to conquering Jesus does something no human military can do for others. He makes us conquerors as well. Romans 8:37 says that we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Jesus also makes a promise for us if we conquer as he has. In Revelation 3:21 he will allow those who conquer to sit with him on his throne, just like he conquered and sat on the throne of his Father.

Many throughout history have died so that others might live, but only Jesus died so that we can live forever. The battle is not over for us, even though Jesus has already conquered, we are still at war. Revelation 17 paints an image of a battle that had not taken place in John’s day, but is now in the past. The same kind of battle is fought again and again by Satan’s forces against the Lamb of God and his people. Revelation 17:14 says, “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

​Those on the Lord’s side will conquer with him. Whose side are you fighting on? Have you allowed Jesus to conquer your will? Are you conquering Satan with Jesus’ help?

Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 both say that Christ is the beginning and the end. Of course this is equivalent to what is said in the song, “He Is My Everything”. There is no doubt that Jesus is the beginning of all things. In Hebrews 1:8-12 the Father says of Jesus, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;” We know Jesus created all things and in the physical world he is certainly the beginning of all things. 

1 John 2:13-14 John refers to Jesus twice as the one who is from the beginning. And in John 1:1-3 he makes it clear that Jesus, the Word is God and has been from eternity.

Paul tells the Colossians in 1:18 that he is our beginning in a spiritual sense because he is the firstborn from the dead, in other words, his resurrection will make ours possible. 

In so many ways he is the beginning. He is the beginning for the church and the new law. He is the beginning of all physical life and all spiritual life and hope for eternal life.

On the other hand, he is the end in so many ways. He brought an end to the power of death. He brought an end to Satan’s power. Romans 10:4 tells us Christ is the end of the law (the Law of Moses) for all who believe. He is or will be the end to this world as well when the time comes according to 1 Corinthians 15:24 at that time Christ will end his reign and return the kingdom to the Father.

​Christ is without a doubt both beginning and end in these ways and many other ways that we don’t understand or know about. He can end your old way of life and give you a new life of righteousness. Is Christ your beginning? Is Christ your end?

The story is told of two children talking about their mommies and how they became part of their families. The first told about how she grew in a special part of her mommy’s tummy before she was born. The other little girl, who had been adopted, replied that she had not grown in her mommy’s tummy, but had grown in her heart. Of course we want all children to grow in their parents’ hearts, how important for us as Christians that we grew in our Heavenly Father’s heart before we were adopted into His family.

The Bible makes it clear Christ has made it possible for us to be part of the family of God. In other words, He took care of all the things that would have stopped it from happening. In essence, he was the adoption agent who brought us together and cut through all of the red tape so that we could be adopted by our Heavenly Father. John 1:12-13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  13  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Galatians 4:5-6 shows us that the reason Jesus came as He did born of a woman, born under the law was to redeem us from being under the law so we could be adopted as sons (daughters too, but in the Greek masculine is used of a group containing male and female).

Romans 8:15 explains that we have received the Spirit of Adoption which allows us to call God - Abba, Father. Abba is their equivalent to our da-da it was the first word a child would speak to recognize a father. 

Ephesians 1:5 helps us understand that it was God’s will long ago for us to be adopted through Jesus Christ. His purpose predestinated it. 

Finally, Romans 8:23 reveals that the ultimate enjoyment of our adoption will come when our hopes are realized and we go home eternally. Are you a child of God? Have you been adopted into His family through Jesus Christ? Are you living in hope of what a heavenly home will be like.

​JP