Archive for the ‘Peace’ Tag
“God With Us: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love!”
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Leave a comment Christmas Reveals The God Who Is Always Near
As Christmas approaches, many of us are not longing for more celebration, we are longing for relief. December often arrives with exhaustion. Schedules fill up, spending piles on, emotions run close to the surface, and even the gatherings we hope will bring connection can carry tension and unspoken strain. We rush toward one day of joy, only to feel strangely empty, tired, or deflated when it passes.
For many, this season doesn’t feel light or magical. It feels heavy. We carry grief, disappointment, unresolved relationships, financial pressure, and the sense that nothing quite goes the way we planned. Beneath the lights and songs, there can be a quiet cloud of weariness, sadness, and confusion.
Scripture does not ignore this reality. It names it honestly:
Romans 8:22–23 (CSB) “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”
And yet, this is exactly the kind of season into which Advent speaks.
As Advent comes to its close, we have been formed week by week by hope, peace, joy, and love. These are not passing emotions or seasonal themes. They are names for what happens when God comes near. Christmas is not the story of God stepping in only when things go wrong. It is the declaration that God has always intended to be with us, in joy and in sorrow, in clarity and in confusion. In Jesus Christ, God does not merely respond to human need; He reveals who He has always been.
Scripture tells us plainly how this love is made known:
1 John 4:9 (CSB) “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.”
Hope is born not because the world suddenly improves, but because God has arrived. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of Christ. Joy is not the denial of suffering, but the deep assurance that life is held by God. Love is not something we create, but something we receive because God loved us first.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit God define love for us. We do not define it ourselves.
As the apostle John declares: 1 John 4:8 (CSB) “God is love.”
1 John 4:16 (CSB) “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.”
These are not sentimental statements. They are theological declarations. They tell us that love is not merely what God does when circumstances demand it. Love is who God is. And Christmas represents the moment when that love takes flesh and dwells among us.
Theologian T. F. Torrance captures this truth beautifully: “God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very being as God for your salvation.”— T. F. Torrance, The Mediation of Christ, p. 94.
This is the heart of Christmas: God does not give us something other than Himself. He gives Himself. His love is self-giving, faithful, and permanent.
In a world filled with uncertainty and noise, Christmas reminds us that the most serious reality in our lives is not the chaos around us, but the God who has come to dwell with us. God is not distant. God is not neutral. God is near and He is love.
Writing in the midst of a broken and violent world, Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminded the Church: “God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.”
A Reflection Moment:
Pause for a moment and consider this: God did not wait for the world to become peaceful and perfect before coming near. God did not wait for us to become joyful or loving before acting. Love arrived first.
Where do you need to stop striving and simply receive this love again?
What fear might be loosened if you trusted that God has already moved toward you?
This Christmas, rest in and enjoy the good news that the One who is our hope, peace, joy, and love has come near and He is here to stay.
“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
“Advent in a World of Suffering: Hope in the Final Coming of Christ!”
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Advent does not ask us to pretend the world isn’t aching. It does not demand that grief be hidden beneath Christmas lights, or that broken relationships suddenly feel whole because the calendar has turned to December. In fact, doesn’t December often feel harder, more hectic, more strained, more overwhelming than we expected?
Advent is given to turn our tired eyes back to Jesus Christ, to anchor our hope not in circumstances but in the certainty of His glorious coming again.
For all who sit in the tension of already but not yet, Advent whispers that Christ has come, Christ comes to us now, and Christ will come again in splendor.
It is the Father-Son-Holy Spirit-God’s word to the tired church, the grieving widow, the waiting intercessor, the one watching a loved one slip toward death, the member sitting in the sanctuary with silent pain behind the smile.
Advent is not the denial of sorrow; it is the defiant declaration that sorrow does not get the final word. It is the season where the Church lifts her eyes through tears and whispers Come, Lord Jesus. It is where we remember that Christ has already come, Christ comes to us now by His Spirit, and Christ will come again in glory. Advent reminds us that the manger was only the beginning, and the Cross was the victory; but the second Advent is the trumpet of victory, the unveiling of glory. This needs to be our focus.
Salvation is already accomplished, yet not fully consummated. We are redeemed, yet still being sanctified. Christ reigns, yet the world still groans beneath death and decay. And so we wait, not with wishful thinking, but with Christ’s promise.
John Calvin directs our longing upwards: “We must hunger after Christ until the dawning of that great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His kingdom.” Institutes III.25.1
Hunger grows strongest in seasons of ache, when our solutions fail, when prayers seem unanswered, when reconciliation never arrives, when hope feels thin. Yet, Advent proclaims that what we long for is coming. Not possibly. Not faintly. SURELY. Because Christ is not merely the child wrapped in straw anymore. He is The King who will return in glory.
John Calvin also comforts the suffering believer: “The Lord himself, by adversity, trains us to patience and obedience.” Institutes III.8.1
We can still hope, knowing that suffering with Christ is never meaningless. It sanctifies. It loosens our grip on this passing age we live in and anchors us to the world to come. The world where God Himself will wipe every tear from our eyes and death will be no more. (Revelation 21:4). And even now, Scripture reminds us that “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them” (Revelation 14:13 NIV). In Christ, pain is never wasted; it becomes seed for glory.
John Calvin continues: “Our present life is indeed a fleeting pilgrimage, but we are sustained by the hope of eternal life.” Institutes III.9.5
Hope is not fragile. It is rooted in Christ.
Martin Luther, writing in the shadow of plague and death, declared: “Even in the midst of death, we Christians have a sure and certain hope.” Sermon on Preparing to Die (1519)
This is Advent. Not sentiment, but substance.
Not shallow cheer, but the hope that defies the grave.
Not escape, but expectation.
Not rushing past pain, but waiting for the One who will end it.
Scripture tells us: “We wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13 (CSB) Blessed hope. Not a feeling but a promise. Not a mood but a return.
So, as we light the candles of Hope, Love, Joy, Peace, we are not just decorating tradition.
We are training our eyes for dawn while it is still dark.
We are forming hearts that know how to wait well.
We are teaching our souls to look to Christ Himself, not merely to relief.
Advent is for those who limp, not those who float. For disciples who fail and rise again. For churches who bury saints on Saturday and worship again on Sunday. For the weak, the wounded, the worn out. For us.
Christ has come. Christ comes to us now. Christ will come again. And when He comes, every tear will dry, every grave will surrender, every sorrow will be healed, every saint will stand in glory. Until then, we wait, hands lifted rather than empty. Not with fading hope, but with blessed hope. Not with denial of pain, but with faith in the One who will end it.
Come, Lord Jesus, COME. Our hope is in YOU ALONE. We are waiting, and with YOU we will not give up.
Father’s Discipline Is First Painful – Then Fruitful! Part 2
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Good News Celebration, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Church, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, The Holy Spirit, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Adoption, Baltimore GCI, Bearing Fruit, Christian Living, Creation, Discipleship, Fruit Bearing, GCI Baltimore, God - Father-Son-and Holy Spirit, God Father Son and Spirit, God in Flesh, God Incarnate, God Likes You, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's Calling, God's discipline, God's Faith, God's Gift, God's Grace, God's Healing, God's Hope, God's Humility, God's love, God's Love And Life, God's Loving Authority, God's Mercy, God's Mission, God's Patience, God's Peace, God's Power, God's Presence, God's Righteousness, God's Spirit, God's Training, God: Father, Gospel, Grace Communion International, healing, Hebrews 12, Hebrews 12:12-13, Human Integrity, Humanity Uplifted, Humility, Incarnation, Included In Christ, Integrity, Jesus, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' Authority, Jesus' Presence, Jesus: True God True Man, John 14, John 14:6, Lord Jesus, Love, One Life, One Truth, one way, Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, Pain, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Baltimore, Peace, Purpose, Relationship With Jesus, Righteousness, Spiritual Maturity, Spirituality, The Father, The Father's Love, The Father-Son-and-Spirit-God, The Holy Spirit, The Life, the Truth, The Way, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Unconditional Love, Union and Communion, Union With Jesus, Wholeness in Christ, Worship
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Audio – Full Message: 38 min
Bible Verses: John 14: 6 Hebrews 12
Living Into This Challenging Christian Life With Jesus!
Introduction:
The Christian Life is living out and manifesting the reality of our union and communion with Jesus Christ. Our purpose in life is to be close to The Father! Even in our weakness, the Lord will strengthen us in this relationship as we trust Him! When our Lord Jesus Christ reappears gloriously, we too will be glorified and blameless in Him! Until Jesus’ reappearing, the Christian life is a challenging life – lived out only in union and communion with the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit!
“Progress in Christ is possible, even major progress.” – Bishop Todd Hunter
Theological Theme:
At times God [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] has to ask: “Have you forgotten who I am? Be encouraged! I AM Your Father, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ!” You are my children! I sent my one and only Son to put my life in you! Your children may escape rebuke and correction but my children don’t! Who loves children more, the one who lets them walk right into harm’s way with no consequence, or the One who openly rebukes them, trains them, disciplines them, and makes them free in Christ? Open rebuke is better than secret love!”
Christ Connection:
Jesus is God’s purpose for all creation, therefore, what Jesus did, mankind can now do by His Grace in The Holy Spirit. Our worldview should be the Person of Jesus Christ as mediated to us by the Holy Spirit and met in Holy Scripture. The scripture proclaims that Jesus is the one man for all men and women. Jesus is the One Human Substituting for and Representing all humans. What Jesus did, mankind can do in the Spirit after Jesus! Jesus didn’t do what he did in response to the Father so that you wouldn’t have to do it – Jesus did what he did so you and I could do it too, in participation with Him. Jesus calls out to us: “Fix your eyes on me and do what I did and still do in you!”
“All of grace means all of man, for the fullness of grace creatively includes the fullness and completeness of our human response in the equation.” – T.F Torrance
Missional Application:
The Holy Spirit does proclaim to us personally and individually – “You’re included”, but that is not the only word of the gospel. The Holy Spirit also proclaims and moves in us to “Go and Make Disciples!” Salvation, forgiveness, redemption, etc. are not just words to proclaim or thoughts to think individually but actions in relationship to be lived out!
“We’re being discipled and bearing fruit, and therefore we’re being disciplined that we might bear more fruit!” – pastor Timothy Brassell
Photo Compliments: https://www.highlandparklc.com/verse-of-the-day-hebrews-1211-kjv/
Father’s Discipline Is First Painful – Then Fruitful! Part 1
Let’s Get TWO-gether With Jesus And Go!, pt.3
Filed under: By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christmas, Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Humor, Love, Ministry, Prayer, Relationships, Sermons, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Adoption, Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Church Renewal, Communion, Disciple-makers, Disciple-making, disciples, Discipleship, Eucharist, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, Gospel, Grace, Great Commission, healing, Incarnation, Jesus, Lord's Supper, Love, Missions, money, new life fellowship, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Obedience, Pastor Tim, Peace, peacemakers, Relationships, Salvation, Timothy J. Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Trust, Worship
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In this last and year-end message in a series about discerning God’s vision for His congregation at New Life Fellowship of Baltimore. MD., we continue asking “How is Jesus speaking to us RIGHT NOW through these scriptures and directing us in His mission locally?”
This message of God’s Good News continues to get very specific about what participation with Christ looks like for us in this world! It asks and discerns: Where and with whom do we begin? How do we address healing in our day as we proclaim Jesus? How should we steward Jesus’ money, and how will we live in Jesus’ peace – on mission with him – as sinners in THIS broken world?
The message can be summarized in this quote:
“There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture, and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security… To look for guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying down the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1934 [Renate Bethge’s Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Brief Life]
Come check it out and walk with us!
Let’s Get TWO-gether With Jesus And Go!, pt.2
Filed under: By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Love, Ministry, Relationships, Sermons, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Adoption, Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Disciple-makers, Disciple-making, disciples, Discipleship, Evangelism, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, Gospel, Grace, Incarnation, Jesus, Love, new life fellowship, Pastor Tim, Peace, peacemakers, Relationships, Salvation, Spiritual Warfare, Timothy J. Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Worship
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In this vision message of God’s Good News at New Life Fellowship of Baltimore. MD., we continue asking “How is Jesus speaking to us through these scriptures and directing us in His mission for our congregation, locally, today?”
This message gets way more specific about HOW we will participate with Christ in light of these insights:
1.) Sin is primarily personal and relational and, therefore, so is its repair!
2.) Isaac WAS Abraham’s special child but he did not drop down from heaven! He came through the cooperation and participation of both Abraham and Sarah. God will do the work, BUT with New Life’s cooperation and participation!
3.) We haven’t witnessed to those we don’t know until we have witnessed to those we don’t know!
You’re invited, and encouraged, to listen in! Maybe Jesus is talking to you and your congregation in similar ways too!
Merry Chaotic and Disturbance-filled Christmas?!
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christmas, Gospel, Humor, Love, Relationships, Trinity, Uncategorized | Tags: Chaos, Christian Living, Christmas, Followers of Jesus, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, Gospel, Incarnation, Jesus, Love, Participation with Christ, Peace, Relational God Revealed, Suffering, Timothy Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity
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Matthew 2:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod…[Herod] was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
I don’t know about you, but I want to run from Christmas chaos! I hate the thought of everything from the slowed up, jammed up traffic, to the packed out gas stations, highways, and stores of frenzied people pushing and shoving, literally, to get “deals” (or NOT because of getting punched by other people who snatch the “deals” right out of their greedy – oops – grubby little hands! HaHa!) Yikes!
But, as much as I hate all of that, I have to admit this atmosphere seems more true to the context in which Jesus was actually born 2000 years ago; only chaotic danger and disturbance when God enters the room in flesh, as one of us! I’m even thinking that maybe its sort of indictment against Christ’s Body, the Church, that there is not more chaos and crisis at Christmastime in our world at the proclamation of this Jesus Christ Who has entered it?
As I read Mathew’s story of Jesus’ birth, I am especially struck at how disturbing it is for the Son of God to come into the ordinariness and horrors of our broken world as man; how chaotic it really is (how disturbing it should be till everyone knows and trusts Him?! ) Everyone and everything disturbed at the entrance of the Son of God coming in flesh – “God With Us!” A marital engagement is disturbed by embarrassment and shame, and then met with the prospect of divorce before the wedding can happen! A king is disturbed enough about Jesus’ birth to lie, hunt for and cross regional lines to kill babies and toddlers hoping he killed Jesus! A family is on the run from an evil father and his ruthless ruling son!….hmmm…
Maybe Christmas isn’t really about encouraging a cute religious experience after all. Not about a nice teaching that will make people nicer and more peaceful. Maybe it’s not even about making people confident in going to heaven after “death by trampling” at the mall.
Maybe Christmas is about the Kingdom of the Father, Son and Spirit rumbling in like a jumbo jet and, through His Body the Church, fostering airwaves and noises of disturbance, prompting crises, as the Church excitedly and urgently encourages and warns its brothers and sisters of the need to get ready for the return of the Christ in “Christ”-mas???
As much as I’d like to know NOW the peace that is promised in Christ’s coming, I have to admit that because the God the Father sends His Son, in the Spirit, into the chaos of this world to be with it and see it saved, that’s the way he is still moving on earth in his Church Body till he returns bodily again! How could there not be chaos and crisis with God breaking into our world?; against evil and our broken human nature, to redeem what He has already redeemed in the glorified humanity of Jesus???
As N.T. Wright has written, for Jesus there is “No point in arriving in comfort, when the world is in misery; no point having an easy life, when the world suffers violence and injustice! If he is to be Emmanuel, God-with-us, he must be with us where the pain is.” Where the Head, Jesus, is, so must his Body, we, be, right?
Perhaps the real peace I long for, and you long for, at Christmas is where Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it was when he wrote, “There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture, and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security… To look for guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying down the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross.”
Merry Cross-mas to You as We Enter the Chaos and Participate with Christ in His Loving Disturbance,
– tjbrassell
Photo courtesy of: http://www.muchoburrito.com
Let’s Get TWO-gether With Jesus And Go!
Filed under: By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Love, Ministry, Prayer, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Adoption, Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, demons, Disciple-makers, Disciple-making, disciples, Discipleship, Evangelism, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, Gospel, Grace, Incarnation, Jesus, Love, new life fellowship, Pastor Tim, Peace, peacemakers, Relationships, Salvation, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Timothy J. Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Worship
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In this message of God’s Good News New Life Fellowship of Baltimore. MD. is being moved in the Spirit to hear from Jesus as He sends forth His disciples to live and share the Good News with as many people as possible. Specifically we are reading Matthew 10, Mark 6, and Luke 9-10, and asking “How is Jesus speaking to us through these scriptures and directing us in His mission for our congregation, today?”
You’re invited, and encouraged, to listen in! Maybe He’s talking to you and your congregation in this way too!
Jesus, Facebook, and Me
Filed under: By Nan Kuhlman, Christian Living, Scripture Paraphrases | Tags: Facebook, Jesus Benyosef, Peace, personal hell
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The Monday after Easter Sunday this year, Jesus posted this on my Facebook timeline:
Nan, you know your personal hell? It has left the building. Just you and me now. Peace, dear woman.
I’m sure you’re wondering if I made this up, but it’s true. Jesus Benyosef has a Facebook account. For those skeptics, all I can tell you is that there is a Jesus Benyosef, a John TheBaptist Benzachar, Andrew Barjonas, Mary and Martha Bethan, John MacZebedee, and a whole host of others who appear to be “walking through the gospel” in real time, or at least, Facebook time. They talk about biblical events as if they are happening present-day and do so in present-day language, allowing us “friends” to participate in the gospel events with them.
I was surprised by Jesus Benyosef’s message to me, and even more surprised by my immediate response to it. I was in my office at school when I checked my Facebook account (instructors have to take breaks, too), and immediately, my eyes began to fill with tears. Had I been at home, I probably would have had a good cry.
This puzzled me, because I have a very good and happy life, and while I have had a few seasons of “personal hells,” right now I’m in the clear. So why did I start to cry at the suggestion of Jesus that my personal hell has left the building?
After some reflection, I think the reason that Jesus Benyosef’s kind words affected me was because they reminded me of words I had heard before, yet they were communicated in today’s language:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27, NIV).
Despite the different wording, I know that these words are true both now and in the future, whenever I need them. And given that I live in a frail and fallen world, I’m sure that there will come a time when I will hold on to these words again tightly, knowing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are meeting me where I am, in all my brokenness, and encouraging me in language that I can relate to. Jesus isn’t stuck in King James land, unable to talk to a 21st-century me. He is here; he is now; he is relevant.
I like having Jesus as a friend, on Facebook and in life, because he knows how it feels to be human, yet he knows how to deliver comfort from the Father through the Holy Spirit in just the right way at just the right time. His words of comfort aren’t limited to just the Bible but can come through a song, a written note, or even a Facebook timeline post from a friend.
Jesus Benyosef’s words on my timeline are true for you, too:
(insert your name here), you know your personal hell? It has left the building. Just you and me now. Peace, dear friend.
~by Nan Kuhlman
Big Government
Filed under: By Jonathan Stepp, Christian Living, Gospel, Trinity | Tags: Christian Living, Christianity, Gospel, Jesus, Peace, Perichoresis, Trinity, War
Comments (3) Some good friends of mine went to D.C. last weekend to protest big government – which I really respect. They have the courage to voice their convictions and speak up when they want their government to change.
Their trip got me to thinking about big government. One of the biggest of big government programs is the military and pretty much the most expensive thing we’re doing as a country right now is waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ending those wars and cutting military spending in half would be a huge step forward in reducing the size of government.
It seems like there’s a very militaristic streak in American society.
Generally, Americans hate big government but when it comes to armies and wars we generally say “the bigger the better!”
Thinking about this also got me to thinking about this picture again, a picture I first linked to in a blog post on my old Neo-Reformation blog back in February.
When I look at that picture I feel like I’m seeing the very antithesis of big government warfare and I wonder when we as Christians will start to see the world more like that picture than we do now.
Just some food for thought.
~ Jonathan Stepp