Chapter 10 The Ascension

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father...

1.  The ascension infuses history and our lives with heavenly direction, eternal purpose, and meaning.  We can only have a meaningful future because God rules it from heaven.
2.  The Latin phrase  anno Domini (AD) means "in the year of our Lord."
3.  The ascension of Christ is linked to the great commission that is given to the church. All authority belongs to Christ and our mission to carry out here on earth His commands extends from that authority.  Matt: 28:18-20
4.  The ascension is about Christ's enthronement as King.  He returns to glory triumphant!  He receives the seat at the right hand of the Father in recognition of his conquering of sin & death forever.
5.  Daniel 7:13-14 prophesy of the ascension of Christ and His enthronement as King.  "... His kingdom the one that shall not be destroyed."
6/7.  Psalm 110:1-6 speaks of Christ reigning as our Priest/King, "... according to the order of Melchizedek."  Both Priest and King of the city of peace.
8.  Christ's rule is best expressed by His church (or it should be).  We receive our authority to act here on earth from Jesus.  By His command we are to teach His words and make disciples for Him.
9.  Psalm 68 is a victory hymn composed by David, but Paul uses it to illustrate how Christ accomplished redemption and now gives gifts to us.  Christ's victorious ascension can be seen in Psalm 68.
10.  When the author states 'Jesus is the greater David', I believe he refers to Jesus conquering the last enemy of God's people - death.  He reigns as the perfect King - victorious.  David was a foreshadow of Christ.
11.  The ascension requires that we look heaven-ward while being active for our King here on earth.  We must be working diligently to be an influence for Christ in this world.  His light reflected in our lives in this dark world.
12.  The ascension focuses us on Christ above - not ourselves, therefore we can't hold on to our natural selfishness and self-centeredness if we are truly focusing on Christ.  It isn't about us - it IS about Him.
13. Verses:
  Acts 1:1-11  In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"  He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
1 John 2:28   And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

Comment issue is fixed

Thanks to my awesome tech support guy, aka my DH, the issue with posting comments as been fixed... I think... prayerfully.

God's Practical & Extravagant Provision

In my constant inconsistency of topics to blog about, I thought I'd share a bit about the past 2 weeks struggle with transportation issues for our oldest child.  A is 19 and a student at the local community college.  He is generally a good kid and gives us far less angst than most boys his age I'm sure - though he provides gray hairs for us in his own way. :-)  God is growing him and us through the journey - as it should be.
Anyway... A's car stuff has been an ordeal since he got his license at 18.  We allowed him to buy a car to use and that was its own adventure, but God provided a car that seemed good and it turns out the family selling it - here in town - were Christians and it was a painless experience.  The car was hit about 3 months after he got it and again God provided.  The other person's insurance paid for all repairs instead of totaling the car.  A had to put some money into it last summer to get it to pass inspection, but God provided the means for hard-to-find parts and a knowledgeable person to help him.
So move to now, well, two weeks ago, and the car starts making a bad noise... I mean a BAD noise.  Mechanic friends from church assessed the situation and told A that his engine is going.  Not good.  We seek a 2nd opinion from our local mechanic and he is told the car is very old and not worth trying to save at this point.  Money-pit is the term that Steve used. :-)
So we started praying.  A doesn't have a lot saved up after having paid for tuition for this semester of school in Dec. and we needed to find affordable (read CHEAP), and yet reliable and not total junk.  He needs safe, reliable transportation to get him back and forth to school, work and church.  Turns out that is really tough to find in NH at this point.  But we serve an awesome God who loves us very much and knows what we need, and even the secret desires of our hearts.
Last night A and I took a drive up to Concord to check out a 1994 Honda Accord.
Yes, 1994... as in 16 years old.  But as a Honda, that isn't really a major deal.  We are a Honda family - I'm on my 3rd and Steve is on his 2nd.
A loved the car, it drove great (I drove it), was very clean inside (if not so pretty on the outside) and the guy was very nice... turns out he goes to Manchester Christian Church. I love it when God steers us to certain people.
Back story to part of this is that Steve had a 1994 Honda Accord when A was a kid and sold it before A got his license.  A had really, REALLY wanted that car.
So now he has one - automatic instead of shift, red instead of green - but God gave him what he had been desiring (Extravagant)... AND what he practically (affordable/reliable) needed.  It just curls my toes to see the fingerprints of God in our daily lives, practically and extravagantly at the same time.  In His perfect time.  We have such an awesome God.

Apron Inspiration

Awhile back I was noodling around at Like A Warm Cup of Coffee and she was doing an apron give away from Flirty Aprons.  You have to check them out - they are sooooo cute!
I did not win the freebie, but was inspired to dig out a pattern I had bought back before Christmas to make my own!  So when my Mom came up for a visit on Saturday, we hit the fabric store and I splurged and bought some GORGEOUS Legacy quilting fabric to make myself a pretty apron.

My daughter J has been hanging around with me in my sewing area and says I will be stylin' when I make dinner in this beautiful creation!  Of course the photos are not very flattering - I should have waited until tomorrow morning to take some photos but I didn't want to wait.  :-)

And one of the side benefits is that I love to sew anyway and with sales, coupons, & discounts - my apron cost $12.50 to make.

Chapter 9 The Resurrection

On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures...

1. Without the resurrection there is no gospel or salvation.
2. Paul makes this argument in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
3. According to Carl Braaten, "The deepest fault line appears where faith and unbelief meet within the churches, among their theologians, bishops, and pastors. Nowhere is this more evident than in the matter of the resurrection of Jesus."  (from The Reality of the Resurrection Bazos Press 2001)
4. Braaten & Machen both contend that without the resurrection  hristianity mutates into a different religion.  It is no longer Christianity.
5. Naturalism is when supernatural elements that can't be generally explained in scientific or rational ways are simply dismissed as unreasonable.  This process makes the human mind - human wisdom - the crucible that tests all doctrines of faith.
6. There are many 'explanations' that have been put forth that are contrary to the resurrection.  There is the idea that the disciples stole the body of Christ and made up the whole thing.  There is also the bizarre 'swoon theory' that says Jesus wasn't really dead when they buried him and that he revived in the tomb.
7. Modernist theologians have dismissed the resurrection as mythology.
8. The idea that people can search for a historical Jesus that is not divine and therefor supernatural is ironic because THAT Jesus doesn't exist.  The Jesus who lived - the Jesus of history - is divine, He is God.
9. Braaten asserts the missionary movement collapses at the denial of the resurrection. 
10. The hope of Christianity rests on our risen Lord Jesus Christ.  All other religions have founders who are dead.  Jesus is alive - raised from the dead, triumphant over sin & the grave.  This is the good news of the gospel for all of us!
11. Verses:
    Romans 6:9   For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
    1 Corinthians 15:1-8  Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
    Acts 1: 3-8   After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Awesome bread!

Doesn't that look yummy?

I found yet another wonderful recipe over at Frugal Girl.  It's for Oatmeal Cinnamon Swirl Bread and it is FANTASTIC!  It makes awesome toast and a friend tells me that it's great for French Toast as well - but we ate the whole loaf before I could try that - guess I will have to make more!
The recipe makes 2 loaves, so I took one to a neighbor in an effort to keep us all from over-indulging. *Note - you have to do this one by hand at the end.  I have a Kitchen-Aid mixer and it couldn't handle that much dough.  I know my bread machine would have had a heart attack if I'd tried it in there.

Chapter 8 Crucified for us

For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried.

1. The section of the creed that deals with Christ's crucifixion is notably short - very basic.  Probably because there was no argument around it - it was a basic fact of the faith.
2. It bears some elaboration today because there are those who deny the reality of the crucifixion and its vital work as Christ offered himself for our atonement.
3. The doctrine of the "harrowing of hell" teaches that Jesus, while he was buried, actually descended into hell and preached to those in hell and then 'broke free', taking some souls with him. **Personally I have never read anything in the Bible that teaches this doctrine specifically and have never been part of a church that teaches it to my knowledge.
4. Jesus' death on the cross provides salvation for sinners.
5. Atonement means 'a covering', which Jesus' death provides for us. His blood covers us, pays out debt, our penalty due for sin.
6. Irenaeus taught that the incarnation of Jesus was a recapitulation on behalf of sinners.  He became man in order to take man's place for the punishment of sin.
7. Athanasius said, "...He surrendered His body to death instead of all,and offered it to the Father. This He did out of sheer love for us, so that in His death all might die, and the law of death thereby be abolished..."
8. St. Anselm likened it to the payment of debt to divine honor, which was offended by sin.
9. Romans 5 describes how Christ is the second Adam who brings life instead of death.
10. Divine love is the motivation for the atonement. Such amazing love - so powerful and perfect - we can scarcely comprehend it.
11. Verses:
    Isaiah 53:5   But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
    Galatians 2:20   I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
    Ephesians 1:3-8   Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.