Knocked up
I've been told that if "non-church goers" are gonna show up for church at all Christmas & Easter Sundays are two days to expect them. So I looked around the congregation this morning to see if it was true. Did you notice any new faces at your corps this morning? To be honest, I couldn't tell ( ...but I am kind of new at my place.)
What I can report is a strong SALVATION message was preached! Like many times before I started out with the preacher, heard something that stirred me, and spun out into thought- preaching my own sermon inside my head. Is that normal?
It ended up like this:
Mary, a virgin (a VIIIIRRGIN) was miraculously impregnated by God with Jesus! This bonafied miracle, this cornerstone doctrine of Christian faith- the literal seed of God being placed inside a women -is a truth most of us don't spend enough time thinking about. But lets be fair. As great as it is (and I do love singing the christmas carols), we are not the only religion that espouses a virgin birth. Could it be that an even more astounding miracle than the virgin birth two thousand years ago is God's desire...to do it again?!
John 1:12,13 "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan-this rebirth comes from God."
Do you know that God is longing to "overshadow" you (and me) with his Spirit and impregnate us with His life. No result of human passion or plan, but like with the virgin Mary- God the Father reaches down by His Spirit and places the life of his Son inside us, "the life that gives light to everyone"(Jn1:4). As Christians we are literally pregnant with a life not our own, yet given to us by God. This short stay on earth is almost like carrying the Life inside us to term... the difference being that the life He gives us will never be taken away. Instead we become one with that Life, like God is one with Himself. That sure makes John 17 a little easier to understand: "I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are- I in them and you in me, all perfected into one."(v22,23)
This puts a whole-new spin on: good pre-natal care, sonograms, and even abortion. As I sit here pondering it all, I place my hand on my belly and listen. Could that be the heart beat of Jesus in me?
What I can report is a strong SALVATION message was preached! Like many times before I started out with the preacher, heard something that stirred me, and spun out into thought- preaching my own sermon inside my head. Is that normal?
It ended up like this:
Mary, a virgin (a VIIIIRRGIN) was miraculously impregnated by God with Jesus! This bonafied miracle, this cornerstone doctrine of Christian faith- the literal seed of God being placed inside a women -is a truth most of us don't spend enough time thinking about. But lets be fair. As great as it is (and I do love singing the christmas carols), we are not the only religion that espouses a virgin birth. Could it be that an even more astounding miracle than the virgin birth two thousand years ago is God's desire...to do it again?!
John 1:12,13 "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan-this rebirth comes from God."
Do you know that God is longing to "overshadow" you (and me) with his Spirit and impregnate us with His life. No result of human passion or plan, but like with the virgin Mary- God the Father reaches down by His Spirit and places the life of his Son inside us, "the life that gives light to everyone"(Jn1:4). As Christians we are literally pregnant with a life not our own, yet given to us by God. This short stay on earth is almost like carrying the Life inside us to term... the difference being that the life He gives us will never be taken away. Instead we become one with that Life, like God is one with Himself. That sure makes John 17 a little easier to understand: "I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are- I in them and you in me, all perfected into one."(v22,23)
This puts a whole-new spin on: good pre-natal care, sonograms, and even abortion. As I sit here pondering it all, I place my hand on my belly and listen. Could that be the heart beat of Jesus in me?
posted by FREEMAN at 11:18 PM
2 Comments:
bless you, brother....your passion for the Lord never ceases to stir my heart to dive in a little deeper in my own faith....
i love you,
your little big sis...
Well this makes a bigger fan base than expected, huh? You seem to get a lot out of 1 John. And so do I now. Thanks Tom. Wik
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