Word of Life Church Podcast

Simeon Bachos, the Ethiopian eunuch, became the first Gentile convert to Christ. There is a powerful message here, because Simeon Bachos was the ultimate outsider. Excluded by his ethnicity and wounded in his sexuality, Simeon had never belonged, never had a place he could truly call home. But when Philip preached Jesus to him and then baptized him, the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled—the inclusive temple of Christ had been built!

Religion is bad when it fosters and legitimizes violence. Religion is bad when it is infected with hypocrisy. Religion is bad when it becomes a source of spiritual pride. Religion is bad when it becomes in end in itself. Religion is bad when it becomes a means of domination. Religion is bad when it becomes an apparatus of coercive power.But religion can also be good; not only good, but absolutely necessary. Religion is how we pass on the faith from generation to generation. Christian religion is the practices of prayer, worship, scripture, creed, sacrament, and justice that form us into Christ-like people. Christian religion is what binds us to the Christian faith Only by the practices of Christian religion will we survive the tsunami of secularism.

The book of Ruth is a short-story vignette stuck between Judges and Samuel. From Genesis to Judges the Bible's story is dominated by larger than life characters—Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Gideon. The great heroes of Israel. All of these heroes of faith experienced miracles and were marked by greatness. But at last, with the book of Ruth, we meet some ordinary people. Some people, not like Moses, but more like us. In the story of Ruth there are no miracles, no angels, no tales of daring-do. Yet God is very present in Ruth’s story. At work as God usually is, quietly, behind the scenes.

Bible reading as part of a spiritual formation regiment can be extremely beneficial in helping form disciples of Jesus in Christlikeness. But this isn’t always the case. There are ways of approaching the Bible, reading the Bible, using the Bible that are detrimental to the soul. Because the Bible is such a powerful thing, the misuse of it can be extremely dangerous. So how do we read the Bible so that it's good for us and not bad for us?

God has a face—it’s the face of Jesus. We see the face of God when we see Jesus. The beauty of God is fully seen in the face of Jesus. We see the face of Jesus as it is revealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. As we gaze on the face of Jesus, we are gradually transformed into the same image. To be transformed into the image of Jesus is the full work of salvation. The Old Testament said no one could see the face of God and live. The New Testament says it’s only by seeing the face of God in Christ that we live.

How can we live in the midst of a world marked by fear, hatred, and violence, and not be destroyed by it? By becoming aware that our true house is not the house of fear, in which the powers of hatred and violence rule, but the house of love, where God resides. Through the spiritual life we gradually move from the house of fear to the house of love.” –Henry Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord

We are not Levites at Sinai cutting down sinners in our zeal. We are healers from Mount Zion reconciling people to God. We are not given the ministry of death from the letter; we are given the ministry of life from the Spirit. If we have more passion to put up the Ten Commandments in courthouses than to advocate for immigrants, help prisoners, and reconcile sinners, we can be sure we are filled with the wrong spirit and have the wrong ministry!

When the Law was given at Mount Sinai, the Levites took up swords and killed 3,000 people who had worshiped the golden calf. At Pentecost, when the holy spirit was given, Peter preached the gospel and 3,000 people were saved! The Apostle Paul says it this way: “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

God is triune but Jesus gets a lot of attention because the Father sends the Son and the Spirit glorifies the Son. Jesus said that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would come to glorify him. The work of the Holy Spirit is not to draw attention to the work of the Holy Spirit, but to draw our attention to Jesus. He does this by producing within us the fruit of the Spirit.