July 2010
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. -John 20:31-
July Greetings to you in the name of Jesus who is the Christ, the Son of God!
This month, from the 17th to the 21st, Dennel and myself have the great privilege of chaperoning Adam, Luke, Katrina, Myranda, Ashley and Hannah to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA. To say that we are excited would border on a gross understatement! The kids have worked diligently and faithfully, trusting God every stop of the way, so that the monies would be raised to underwrite the cost of our trip. God has blessed their efforts! And, to be sure, we/I want to thank everyone of you who has contributed time, effort and money to help us get from Germantown to New Orleans.
I thought it appropriate, especially in these notes, to draw your attention to the theme verse for this year's Gathering. The overriding theme is simple: WE BELIEVE! It is drawn from the text above. Actually, when you read the verse, it is the Spirit born response to the text above.
We find this verse about a week after the resurrection of Christ. It follows the encounter Jesus has with Thomas, who would not believe unless he saw the nail pierced hand and touched the side of the Messiah. We know the story well don't we? One of my most treasured gifts is a portrait given me that is simply titled: "Proof to Thomas." Come to my office some time. I would love to show it to you. Indeed, Jesus would give "proof" to Thomas. In seeing the risen Savior Thomas would BELIEVE! In response to the empirical evidence of the resurrection (Jesus appears physically to Thomas), our Lord would say, "Because you have seen me, you have believe; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
In verse 31 we are reminded that because we no longer have the physical presence of Christ with us, as did Thomas, we have His Word - The Bible, to serve the same purpose. Jesus appears before Thomas so that he would believe. Jesus moves into our lives through His Word so that we would believe. So, what is it we believe about Jesus? We believe the same thing Thomas and the rest of the disciples believed.
WE BELIEVE...Jesus is the Christ. The term Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word, Messiah. Did you catch all that? Over two hundred names are ascribed to Jesus in the Bible. His official name is Jesus Christ. The name Jesus comes from the Old Testament name, Joshua. The name Joshua means "to save" or "helper." Now the title, "Christ," means "anointed one," or "chosen one." Thus Jesus was chosen /anointed before the creation of the world to be our Savior...your Savior. Thus WE BELIEVE...there is no other Messiah!
WE BELIEVE... that He is the Son of God. This designation of the Savior reminds us that HE is the God incarnate. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth." In His incarnation He identified with our need He identified with our need for healing and hope; for forgiveness and renewal; for life and transformation In becoming one of us He said "I Am the God who is going to walk a mile in your shoes And then I am going to walk a mile you are unable to walk. I will walk to Calvary's cross for you." Because He is the Son of God, we have a Savior who can identify with every need, every hurt, every disappointment, every fear, every ache, every pain in our life. He knows what it is like to walk a mile in your shoes. This WE BELIEVE...the babe born to Mary is the Son of God. Here's the purpose of it all...
WE BELIEVE... that we have life in his name and no other. He comes to give us the abundant life. He comes most of all to give us eternal life. There is no other name. There is no other Messiah. There is no other way for Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the LIFE." Thus...WE BELIEVE even as Thomas believed!
Too all who helped raise the funds, thank you so very much for your support! I love the kids Dennel and I are leading (especially one in particular). Keep us in your prayers while we are gone. What a wonderful theme:
WE BELIEVE...!
Until next time,
Pastor K