Matthew 16:18
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. (NRSV)
Simon, was renamed and called Peter. This is a rendition of the Greek word for “Rock” or Petra. I find it interesting that Jesus states that this rock, on which the church is built will be so strong that the gates of Hades will not prevail.
Think about what Jesus is saying. The gates of Hades implies that Hades is static, not moving, that it is truly a dead place, a place of stagnation. It has gates and thus it cannot move, nor be moved, but must stay where it is. Hades will not improve or live. It isn’t meant to improve, but just rot. Anything that stays in one place too long tends to rot and wither, and thus you have a vision of Hades, eternal rot and death within the walls.
But the church is built on a rock. In ancient times, rocks were the projectiles of choice used to break down city walls. With the Church being built on the Rock, we are called to break down walls of stagnation and death, to roll through hate and oppression. The church is supposed to be a movement to help people know Christ, not a fortress to keep people out.
This call, and the Great Commission reminds us that we are called to move. The Church is a place of dynamic work, not stagnating death and we, who are on the rock, are called to knock down those gates, for they cannot and will not prevail.
The Church in Christ is what Rocks the world.
Amen
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Hope, Patience, Prayer
Romans 12:12 (Contemporary English Version)
12Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.
I once listened to a motivational tape by Zig Ziglar. One of the comments that he made was ,”if you have hope in the future then you have power in the present”. This is a truth that is often overlooked by the church and feared by a sinful world. For you see, hope allows us to see that our current situation is temporary. We can be patient in time of trouble because we have hope in a future hapiness.
In Christ, we are given hope through a bloody cross and an empty tomb. Our God ended our fear of death, and for the world, that is the only fear it can truly hold over us. Hope is what let us see the end of death and the beginning of true life. Hope is what allows us to continue on, even in the face of the impossible.
But hope cannot do it all alone, it also takes something else. Communication with the giver of hope is essential in feeling hope in our lives. Prayer is that communication with God that strengthens us and assures us that we can make it through troubling times. Jesus taught us to pray, and showed us that talking with the Father is absolutely essential in our walk of faith. If we do not talk with God, then we tend to listen to the world and its message of death.
Prayer is the key to life, because through prayer, we know hope, and with hope is the power to be patient in times of trouble. What this country needs, and what we need is deliberate, focused, purposeful time with the Master, in essence prayer.
Amen
12Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.
I once listened to a motivational tape by Zig Ziglar. One of the comments that he made was ,”if you have hope in the future then you have power in the present”. This is a truth that is often overlooked by the church and feared by a sinful world. For you see, hope allows us to see that our current situation is temporary. We can be patient in time of trouble because we have hope in a future hapiness.
In Christ, we are given hope through a bloody cross and an empty tomb. Our God ended our fear of death, and for the world, that is the only fear it can truly hold over us. Hope is what let us see the end of death and the beginning of true life. Hope is what allows us to continue on, even in the face of the impossible.
But hope cannot do it all alone, it also takes something else. Communication with the giver of hope is essential in feeling hope in our lives. Prayer is that communication with God that strengthens us and assures us that we can make it through troubling times. Jesus taught us to pray, and showed us that talking with the Father is absolutely essential in our walk of faith. If we do not talk with God, then we tend to listen to the world and its message of death.
Prayer is the key to life, because through prayer, we know hope, and with hope is the power to be patient in times of trouble. What this country needs, and what we need is deliberate, focused, purposeful time with the Master, in essence prayer.
Amen
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