Our Blog
Hope of Glory
*"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27). *
One of my favorite vacation activities is reading G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown mysteries. For a mystery to “work,” the secret must be revealed at the end. No one would want to reach the end of a book only to read, “I can’t tell you who did it. It is a mystery.” The last chapter should reveal the solution to the mystery.
Paul said to the Colossians, “Let me reveal the mystery that was hidden in the past: because of Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles alike live in hope” (Personal paraphrase). Christ is in you – that is the hope of glory! Our hope is not grounded on political currents or social trends; our hope is in Christ.
This hope is more than a statement of intellectual consent. It is a personal relationship; “Christ in you.” A political leader who professes to be a Christian was recently asked, “What does being a Christian mean to you?” He responded, “It means that I believe Jesus existed.” “Christ in you, the hope of glory” is much more than believing that Jesus existed. The hope of glory is Jesus Christ living in us leading to a daily transformation into His image. The hope of glory is lives shaped by the reality of His presence. (Randy McElwain)
Rejoice today in this wonderful news: the mystery of the ages has been revealed – Jesus Christ in us brings the hope of glory!
This devotional is the Friday, April 29, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.
Foundation for Christian Hope
Lesson 9 - May 1, 2016
Focus Text: John 14:1-19
Central Truth: Christ gives us good reason to live with hope.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to state the foundation of the hope of the Christian in at least three areas.
Lesson Outline:
- The Home Christ Is Preparing (John 14:1-7)
- The Help Christ Promises (John 14:8-14)
- The Helper Christ Has Provided (John 14:15-31)
Prayer – Lesson 8, Christ Demonstrates Humility
Heavenly Father, bless our Sunday school classes today. Help them to understand how humility is not weakness, but greatness in Your eyes. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The Contrast between Pride and Humility
In "Doctrinal Discussion" Randy Bland writes:
One definition of pride is an inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority. This definition is an apt description of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. Humility, on the other hand, is defined as having a modest opinion of one’s own importance. Perhaps we should add that it is having a true opinion of one’s own importance. The publican knew exactly who he was and where he stood before God. Such knowledge is the most important thing when it comes to living lives of humility.
Discussion: What kind of opinion do we possess?
Source: Jesus, Son of God: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 50.
The Fulfillment of the Passover
In "Word Focus" Darrell Grim writes:
The Rabbinical customs prescribed that after the passing of the cup, the head of the group was to rise and wash his hands. It was probably at this point that Christ rose from the table. However, He departed from the traditional hand washing and adapted it to foot washing. Christ was injecting a very practical and relevant principle into the liturgical humdrum that was a part of the Jewish feasts. He was, throughout this feast, transforming it from the Paschal meal to the Eucharist. He was the fulfillment of all that the Paschal meal represented.
Discussion: What are other similarities and differences we see between the Passover feast and the Last Supper?
Source: Jesus, Son of God: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 46.
Humility Admonished
"Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility." (Daniel 4:27)
After returning home from dinner, my brother and his wife realized they had locked themselves out of their house. He went around the entire house from window to window hoping to find one that was unlocked and finally located a small one that was high above the ground.
Piling boxes on top of a garbage can, he climbed on the teetering tower to crawl through the tiny window, his large frame making this no small challenge! After essentially falling through the window he located the house keys on the dining room table, then gingerly crawled back out the small window onto his unstable tower of garbage can and boxes to the ground. Returning to his wife who was waiting at the front door he smilingly offered her the keys. Her response – “Why didn’t you just come out the front door?” His Response – “Oh, be quiet!”
Sometimes, as my brother did, we do our decision making by default rather than reasoned consideration which often leads to faulty decisions. Default thinking may be “doing it the way we have always done it” and this is known as “stink’n think’n.” A spirit of humility seeks God’s wisdom as we make decisions. (Clifford Churchill)
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me-
All is wonderful passion and p
O Thou Spirit divine, All my nature refine.
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.
― Albert Orsborn, Tom Jones
As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
This devotional is the Monday, April 18, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.