GO! - Matthew 28:16-20 - Holy Trinity

 

Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

GO!

Sort of back to the start for Jesus and His now eleven disciples. How’s that? Jesus had pre-arranged this meeting with His disciples, to go to Galilee. This is back to where Jesus’ ministry began and where He first called some of His disciples. It’s almost like an extension of His ministry after His resurrection. So, this is a connecting place for ministry to continue into this world, even after He returns to heaven. And on a mountain to boot. God seems to go to mountains to meet with His people.

I think that is why I like mountains myself. Mountains, to me, mean peace, fresh air, and spectacular views. Thin places, I’ve heard others refer to them as, thin places close to God. So, think back on mountains that you have been to. Think back on the mountains that God mentions in Scripture and give all of that some thought.

So, here in this one verse is a call to obedience in following Jesus pre-arranged instructions and a spiritual connection with God. For the disciples, this was a journey that is faith-filled and a journey that will move ministry into the future through them.

Reflect on your own walk with God and think of the times and places that God has called you to go to that are unknown. Give thanks to God that you are called and permitted to serve Him in your life in your present life journey.

We see God and worship Him. Here the disciples see Jesus and worship Him. It’s a sign of faith and belief that Jesus IS who He says He is… God. But some of us still doubt. That’s not only then but for disciples today. I fall to doubt at times. This is unfortunate, but really natural. In the midst of my doubt, I tend to dig deeper into God’s Word. I think that may be a good thing. In the midst of my doubt, I pray. In the midst of my doubt, I look to see God. So, here, it seems to me in the seeing and believing or doubting, all is a walk with God that leads to faith, trust and hope.

So, as we all walk out our lives, let’s live in faith and doubt, and not judge the other person that is wavering from one to the other. For in faith or doubt, God is still present looking for each of us to be with Him.

And then Jesus makes an amazing move and declaration. First off, He comes to the disciples. He comes to you and me as well. He doesn’t wait for us to come to Him. Next, he declares His authority that exists not only in the physical realm of earthly creation, but in the spiritual realm of heaven. Think about it… He came to earth from heaven. So, Jesus in God exists not only as flesh and blood but Holy Spirit. And now we tie it all back to the Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit. Yea, Holy Trinity!

So, what about this authority that Jesus speaks of? Well, it’s a given. God is always giving. God even gives His authority. Jesus gives His life. The Spirit gives His church on earth, and the saints within it, gifts to carry out what is coming next, in these few verses of Scripture.

Now, with Jesus having established His authority in this world and in heaven, He issues a command for the disciples then and now. Go! An action command. Jesus has been teaching us, and them, all along. Even through the winter and spring months with this very series of Reflections, we have heard Jesus’ teaching. Teaching that points to Him and the Father’s plan of salvation for all people. A plan that now will involve the guidance of the Holy Spirit at work not only in disciples, but in the catholic church as well. Catholic you say? Sure! Not just Roman Catholic, but ALL the church here on earth made up of ALL believers from various Christian practices, theologies and callings to GO. Go and do what? Tell of what God has done! Tell of how God has acted in your own life by forgiving you and saving you and giving you a new life through what Jesus has already done. Yea, sure, GO! This is not the first time God has issued this command. So, even to the people of Jesus’ day, it should sound familiar. Maybe they even have the passage of Scripture memorized.

Genesis 12:1 NIV

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

This GO command uses all the teachings and examples that Jesus has been letting us in on all along. This GO is a GO of trust, hope, faith and the belief that God has our backs. But again, GO and do what?

Well first, tell the Gospel to the people, then baptize, baptize, baptize. Remember that your baptism is a gift from God. Your baptism is an action of God. Your baptism is God claiming you! And from your baptism you become a new creation, powered and gifted by the Holy Spirit, through all that you have witnessed God do through Jesus to forgive you, to free you from sin, death and the devil. No longer are you held captive. You are too, as a newly baptized child of God called to GO! GO and proclaim all that God has done, TO all those God places in your life, day after day after day, place after place after place. This is an exciting new eternal journey, full of risk, danger, and ultimate joy living with God as you GO!

Now Jesus has set the Trinity in the center. Baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. All God. All unique. All different, yet ALL God.

Think of it!

Revelation 7:9 NIV

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

That there, IS, what this GO results in at the end of time! This is the fulfillment of the command of this “Great Commission.” This “Great GO!”

And as disciples GO! We recall the teachings of Jesus. We “Point to Jesus” and tell of His Word as recorded in Scripture, and TEACH, TEACH, TEACH. Thinking and witness in Word how Jesus has taught disciples all along. For in Word and through the Holy Spirit we can be assured that Jesus IS WITH us all along the way we GO!

Revelation 21:1-4 NIV

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

WOW!

Back to the start we go with Jesus, in this passage. Remember how He was present at Creation? Now He is present at the beginning of the ministry given to His disciples. Jesus came to earth in the flesh and blood of a divine intervention, and now He draws us into this divine intervention to be at One with Him, to be at One with the Father, and to be at One with the Holy Spirit. Why? Tag your it. Tag I’m it. Listen to Jesus, and be obedient to His call and the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide His church, here on earth and finally in eternity, when all will be made new and perfect, once again. So, yea, back to the beginning we go, with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The power of the Trinity is evident in creation. And not just the creation of what is physical. The power of the Trinity is evident in the spiritual. So, seen or unseen, God shows His awesome power and majesty.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The disciples can see Jesus. Jesus in the flesh. He is, without a doubt resurrected from the dead and alive. Yet, Jesus is leading us to not just trust our eyes, but to also trust in the Holy Spirit, which He is giving to us on the mountain tops of our lives. The Holy Spirit that will lead us and guide us and provide for all our needs. So, once again, Trinity, the Father sent His Son to us, and the Son leaves, or better yet, gives us the Holy Spirit to bring us back to God… Father, Son, Spirit… here with us.

So, guess what? We will die, unless you are one of the few that are alive when Jesus comes again. But we know that since Jesus lived, suffered, was crucified, and buried, and rose again; He has led the way for us to eternal life. How? In His death, He forgave us and released us from the bondage to sin. Sin holds no eternal power over us. And since He rose again, just as the Father had planned, He rose again FOR us that the power of death would be defeated. So, rejoice in what God has done. He forgave our sinfulness, put it to death, and leads us to new life by overcoming death. Why? So that we could live with Father, Son and Spirit, forever in unity into eternity. Wow! How mighty is that? How majestic is the power of God!

So, this is an eternal thing here. We GO! We look to the teachings of Jesus. We GO and tell the story. We GO and teach the teachings. We GO to all the places and people God calls us to not only teaching, but living out the Gospel of love God places in our hearts through what He did to bring us into Him, and to one another, forever.

Yep… Today… tomorrow… and forever… GO! Thanks be to God!

I love this song. Enjoy this YouTube Music Video…

“Come to Jesus”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGy2VHlj0qY&list=RDqGy2VHlj0qY&start_radio=1

 

Rivers Within - John 7:37-39 - Pentecost

 

John 7:37-39 NIV

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Rivers Within

This short Gospel passage of Scripture takes place during the Feast of the Tabernacles. A feast to remember the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness. A central theme of this feast is “water.” Water is a big deal. Think of the needs of water in the wilderness. Water was not only needed to refresh the body, but symbolically it was a spiritual refreshment, as well.

When I take a shower, water washes over my body and also refreshes my spirit. Water makes us feel good. And God gives us these waters in our baptism as well. Water combined with God’s Word, raises us up, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, to a new life, to be a Child of God, accepted and loved into eternity.

Water quenches our thirst. And as Jesus invites us here to come to Him and drink. Why?

Because it is through Jesus that we are fed with not just H2O, but life-giving eternal water of salvation and grace. Well, hold on a minute, that seems to be taking this too far. But it’s not a stretch at all, take Jesus at His word and believe! Jesus invites us to come to Him.

Listen to the prophet Isaiah…

Isaiah 55:1 NIV

55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.

And here we are once again, back to gifts from God. An invitation from Jesus to take in His life-giving water, free! When we come to Jesus, we come in faith, we come for refreshment and we receive what Jesus alone can give, life and life abundant, life full of His life-giving water, His eternal water, His grace.

So, yes, this is a time to celebrate! The Festival of Booths, when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, while approaching the waters of the Jordan, to cross over into the promised land through those refreshing waters of promise and hope of a new life with God.

Now Jesus invites us to His gift of endless water, to cross over into life eternal, through Him and with Him. Abundant water that never ceases to flow. I think of Jesus at His baptism

by John, and how Jesus Himself was washed over by the waters of the Jordan, to have heaven open up, and the Holy Spirit descend upon Him. At this He was called by the Father, gifted by the Spirit, and began His ministry in earnest to save ALL people.

So, come to Jesus and let that water flow!

Revelation 22:17 NIV

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Jesus issues an open invitation to believe in Him. Believe what? When you consider the rest of His statement,” that streams of living water will flow from you,” it becomes clear, that when you believe in Jesus, you receive eternal life. Life is in the water, and the Word, which IS Jesus.

Think of the water that flows from the throne of God, as mentioned in Revelation and other places. This is life giving water that sustains everything it contacts. So, to believe, is to use the faith and gifts God has freely given to you, SO THAT, you place all your hope and trust in what Jesus has done, and what the Spirit has freely given to you, each and every day of your eternal life with God.

So, as the prophet Joel states…

Joel 2:28 NIV

²⁸ “And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.

So, this pouring out of the Spirit, is like the ever-flowing water of living water streaming from God.

And with this Jesus tells us about the Spirit of God that will come over His believers. The Spirit that will show us our sin and lead us to the gifts from God that flows freely from God in water, fire and the conviction to do the will of God. As believers live by the Spirit, as God’s work is done in this world, in forgiveness, love and salvation.

God places His Spirit upon His people. Moses wished that ALL the Lord’s people had the Spirit placed upon them…

Numbers 11:24-30 NIV

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.

²⁶ However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

²⁹ But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰ Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

And as David did in times past, we too, seek the guidance, the forgiveness and the ways that God would call us and teach us to go. In this day, the day of Pentecost, God sends His Spirit upon us to teach us, to lead us, to guide us, and to call us out, to do His will for ALL the people.

As we celebrate the day of Pentecost, we see how the Holy Spirit, calls, enlightens and gifts all believers to be fruitful in living out God’s love throughout the life of the Church on this earth. A love that will flow like rivers of living water until Jesus comes again and all those believers will see the source of that stream of water from God. What a vision! What power God has shown through creation, redemption in Jesus, and gifts of life in the Holy Spirit.

So, as disciples of Jesus, GO! Go out in Spirit and Word, to boldly proclaim the forgiveness of sin, the salvation of God brought to earth for ALL. Go and speak the Gospel Word not only vocally, but in actions of love and forgiveness for one another. Go, in obedience to the call that God has placed on you, that the Holy Spirit has given all the needs you need, to tell the world, all that God has done… today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be to God! Be on fire full of life-giving water for all the world.

I leave you with this YouTube Music Video that spoke to me about “Living Water” this past week… relax and enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA9UfBEHciY

 

Know This! - John 17:1-11 - Seventh Week after Easter

 

John 17:1-11 NIV

17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Know This!

Gather to pray together. Disciples have a calling and a mission to carry out as we are anointed by God to proclaim the Gospel of God’s salvation to all the world. So, as we are called, we gather, and we appoint one another to fulfill God’s will until He comes again in glory at that final resurrection. Come, Lord Jesus, come…

God rises up and brings salvation to all the hopeless, the poor, the needy, and the people of this world lost in sin. God rises up from this earth and reigns in His Kingdom, now and forever.

Jesus, doesn’t sugar coat what it is like to be His disciple. There is no promise of ease. There is no promise of comfort. In fact, He is open and honest about how the world will treat His disciples. After all, look how the world treated Him. Yet we can still have comfort when we cast all of our anxieties upon God. God will comfort those who are faithful to His will and His way.

Prayer is a big deal. I love how Jesus, on this night, before His crucifixion, prays so intimately. He demonstrates how prayer is a primary connection to His Father. Like a family member, and He draws all of His disciples right into this close conversation and prayer, with pleas of thanksgiving, and obedience to following God’s will in the Father’s own way, even down to this meaning of this “hour” as Jesus puts it. When it’s time it’s time.

And then to proclaim loud and clear that Jesus is God and the Father is God and authority to grant eternal-life exists in God for all the world. How could you not believe, while hearing or even as we do now, reading, these very words of God in Jesus?

All of these statements of giving. We are given to Jesus, Jesus is given to us, authority is given to Jesus to GIVE eternal life. How humbling to witness these words of Jesus.

James 4:10 NIV

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

That’s chilling stuff there, that warms a disciple’s heart to the core! Thanks be to God!

When we think of eternal life, many of us think of something in the future. But here, Jesus points out that eternal life is here and now. How’s that? In the knowing of God, we experience eternal life. To know God in this sense is a deep relationship with God. Jesus comes to us and becomes One with us, in flesh and blood. That is God’s deep knowing of what He has created in mankind. That is God knowing the created by becoming One in us and with us. So, when we “know” God, we have eternal life.

In Jesus’ carrying out the Father’s mission to redeem His created; Jesus showed obedience in always “Pointing to the Father.” Likewise in our lives as disciples, we “Point to Jesus.” It’s through this priority of God the Creator and God the Redeemer, that we become One with God. We should never fail to recognize that we ARE NOT God. We are the created people of God throughout time to “Point to Jesus.” Show and speak to the world, and all those God places into our lives, what God has done.

Just as Jesus fulfilled the will of the Father, we are called to obedience in fulfilling the will of Jesus, with the gifts from the Spirit. That’s our work in this world. To love, serve and obey God.

Then Jesus takes us right back out of time, in glorifying God the Father through His obedience, He goes back from now to before the Creation to be One with the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus moves in and out and all-around time. It’s God’s eternal presence that He calls us and gifts to us through what God does. We can’t do that on our own, that’s all a gift of God, out of His love for His creation.

As we have gone all this year, hearing Jesus’ ministry and teaching, over and over again, Jesus has made it known that the Father sent Him into this world, AND that Jesus IS the Messiah, Jesus IS God as well. It’s comforting to hear that the Father gave us Jesus to forgive and love us back to life in God.

So, daily recall your baptism knowing full well that you ARE a Child of God. And yes, now we know that everything that Jesus granted to us comes from the Father. What a gift!

As a gift from God through Jesus, we receive. Wow! God gives life to us, even though we deserve the death that Jesus is about to suffer for us. And we can believe. So, not only is faith a gift from God, but the ability to believe comes from God as well. What a gift!

Jesus goes to the Father FOR us! How great is that? As Jesus prays, He prays for us and NOT for this world. This world will pass, but our relationship with God will not pass away. Eternal life is ALL wrapped up in US with God. And to think that God initiated that, through the giving of Himself in Jesus, who came to us. That’s all hard to fathom, but true, in these words from Jesus. So, believe it! God gives you the faith to believe, so, believe Him at what He says.

In the believing of what God does, we give ALL honor and glory and thanks, right now and right into eternity, forever and ever!

And with this Jesus leaves our presence, sort of. With this unity with God the Father, and this unity with God the Son, and this unity with God the Spirit; we can continue on. Continue on loving all of those God gives to us each and every day… Even in the midst of persecution, doubt of our testimony, denial of God, and any torture we may incur because we believe what God has done to be true.

So, there you have it. Jesus words at the Last Supper, just ahead of his suffering, death and resurrection. Yes, in the face of it all, Jesus gives us a hope of eternity, with God, to truly KNOW God as He has sent His Son to forgive us, to die for us, to defeat the power of sin, and to raise to new life, as He draws us into Him.

Yes, Jesus! You are proof of the love of God… today… tomorrow… and forever.

Thanks, glory, honor and all praise be to God… Forever and ever!

Enjoy this YouTube Music that speaks to the Knowing…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j25JqWgjDF4&list=RDj25JqWgjDF4&start_radio=1

 

The Table - John 14:15-21 - Sixth Week after Easter

 

John 14:15-21 NIV

 

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

 

The Table

 

So, there we were; all gathered together for some kind of special occasion, that I really didn’t understand. The conversation passing back and forth over and around me was deep. I mean really deep. I couldn’t figure out much of it, but it came from all directions.

 

First off let me introduce myself. I was created by God and used in so many ways. I would bring to life the fruit of the world. I would also bring to life the fruit that would be a great downfall for mankind. And yet my very being would bring about so much pain and suffering, along with a vehicle to salvation for all of mankind.

 

One main purpose I have come to understand is the God has created me, AND God has created all that exists. It’s important to know this, because, in the past, some people have used me to attempt to create God. Well that just won’t work. I can’t create God from myself and others can’t create God from me. That just won’t work.

 

So, the question becomes as to why God created me in the first place. I’ve come to understand that God has created me and all that exists, SO THAT, creation may come to love, serve, adore, praise and honor God. So, yea, that’s why I’m here in this place. And that applies to all of these folks gathered around me in this place and time. For now, that’s enough about me.

 

Let me tell you what I witnessed this moment in time in an Upper Room where Jesus gathered together with twelve of His closest friends. This stuff you can’t make up, so listen closely and observe all of Jesus’ words spoken.

 

The best that I could gather was Jesus speaking and showing how He is One. One with God the Father, One with God the Spirit, and One with all of those who believe in what He is about to do. It’s really a mystery listening in on all of this.

 

Jesus is all about love. So much about love that He cares for all of those God gives to Him, in a deep deep way. Speaking of love, Jesus knows that there are powers in this world that run wild with the need to lie about everything. Powers that want death to be the ruler of this world. Powers that want sin to flourish and overtake everything that there is or will be. And yet these powers won’t be able to see or accept what Jesus is on the verge of doing.

 

And Jesus knows that what He has been called to carry out will set in motion a separation, followed by a reunion, followed by a sending to these believers gathered this evening around me.

 

Oh, how it pains me to realize how I have been used throughout time and space. And then again, realize what God has made of me, even though I have brought so much pain into this world by being, well, just being me. And then again, somehow, this Jesus, this Father, this Spirit, created in me a wonderful and glorious way to love, honor, praise and adore God.

 

Doesn’t make much sense, does it? But I’m not that totally different from any of these disciples gathered all around me, for a supper of bread and wine. A supper of food that Jesus claims to be His own flesh and blood. A supper consumed so that even in the bread and the wine, Jesus could, and would, be ONE with all those who take Him in and believe what He has to say.

 

Well now that I have run all around the bush with this stuff, bear with me a while longer. A long time ago, God gave mankind a command and a restriction. I’m talking about some of my very own fruit here. God didn’t want man to eat of a certain fruit of mine. Yet, being tempted by an evil idea, mankind wanted to be like God and know all that God knows. Kind of like making a god of themselves. So, obedience to God flew out the window that day and into the gut of mankind.

 

So, that’s how this whole sinful world came under the rule of sin and death. That old foe thought he had this creation of God in his own hands now. Well, he still does a bit, but first his power is going to be defeated and then he will be eliminated. Why?

 

Because God loves His creation and will save His creation in the end. There is a connection to the Law of God and the Love of God that lasts.

 

So, all along, God has created a way out. All along God has in place a Savior, for mankind. All along God the Father planned to send God the Son into this world to defeat this power over sin and death, that the Evil One so greatly prized and cherished over all of mankind.

 

And this is where, after Jesus, ministry, teaching and all of the healings that He had been bringing forth into this world was about to unfold. The love of God in Christ Jesus was here and now, on display this evening, right above and all around me.

 

And on me, this Jesus would suffer and die. Why? Because He would become the sacrifice that would free all creation and those who believe in Him from sin and death. How? Because Jesus is One with the Father and One with the Spirit; it’s in His power to do just that.

 

Then after Jesus death on the cross, after He forgives the sin of those hateful people, those fearful people, those killers, He will be placed in a tomb. So, upon the wood of that cross, Jesus would forgive mankind of sin and die. Later to be placed in a sealed tomb.

 

And guess what? Jesus rose again. Bunches of people saw it and understood what had taken place. So many that no court in the land would be able to deny what God had done. Jesus wandered around for a while and went back to be with God the Father. Yea, He ascended into heaven.

 

And here is where this speech that Jesus gave on that night in the Upper Room, before His death comes in. Jesus promises to all those disciples that He will send God the Spirit to be with them after He leaves. So, those disciples of Jesus will not see, yet still will see Jesus, in the Spirit of God and in His presence with them and in them. Kind of like that bread and that wine, that body and that blood.

 

But this world’s powers and this world’s unbelievers won’t see this Spirt of God. They will deny this whole thing. They will deny salvation through God’s love for His creation.

 

But to all who believe; Jesus will be constantly present through the Spirit, leaving none of us alone. Even when my eyes can’t see Jesus, bet you didn’t know I had eyes, creation can see Jesus’ presence all of the time in the Spirit.

 

So, Jesus tells us of a day, coming soon. The Day of Pentecost, when we see how Jesus the Father and the Spirit all wrapped into One are One IN us.

 

And you know what? If God created me, and turned me into something that brought sin into this world to something that would bring honor and glory because of what He did upon me… He can do the same and more upon you.

 

So, what to make of this story? Is this just a crazy tale from a silly Old Man? Maybe.

 

But one thing is true from my perspective.

 

As God used the tree that produced the fruit that Satan used to tempt mankind into selfish sinfulness; did the wood of that tree know what was taking place?

 

Did the wood of the table at the Last Supper know that it would hold the life-giving bread and wine of Jesus?

 

Was the wood of the cross aware that it was supporting the Savior of the World that came to earth as God, to forgive mankind of sin, to die and defeat the power of sin?

 

I don’t know… But I do believe that God uses me, you, and sinful mankind to lead us from sin to eternal life IN Him, to be ONE with Him, THROUGH, what God has done.

 

And I do believe that God, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, has called us out from ourselves, to proclaim to all the world what He has done to bring us to Him and into His Kingdom.

 

An Old Man with a vision of a tree in the Garden, to the wood of the tree at the Lord’s Table during Communion, to the Wood that made up that cross of Salvation, to the Tree of Life that stands forever in eternity.

 

All to make us ONE, with Him, and through Him.

 

So now, all is revealed in and through the Love of God in Christ Jesus, and the Love of God in the Spirit, that flows out to all the world through believers.

 

Love, Forgiveness, Everlasting life in communion with God.

 

Like Jesus said that night above me and all around me…

 

“The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

 

And yes… I love you, Father, Son and Spirit… Don’t you too?

 

I leave you with this YouTube Music Video that inspired me this past week in the writing of this Reflection… enjoy…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHAu3fLF7NI&list=RDWHAu3fLF7NI&start_radio=1