Faith and Forgiveness

Acts 6: 8, 12, 7:58, 8:1

“6:8 Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.12 They (the Jews in the Temple) stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council.  7:58 Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 8:1 And Saul approved of their killing him.”

Stephen, a man full of grace, died a terrible death by stoning.  The future Apostle, Saul, who was not yet a believer, stood by as the crowd stoned him.  And he approved of their action.  

Saul, or Paul as they called him later, was used in a powerful way by God in the spreading of the gospel across the ancient world after he came to faith.  Because of God’s forgiveness, Saul was able to put away his past as a persecutor of Christians, and allow the Holy Spirit to work within him so that he could accomplish the things that God was asking him to do.  

In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul wrote: “ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Let us all move forward in the faith and in the forgiveness that God has given us.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Spirit Filled Life

Acts 4: 32-35

“32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”

Early Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit instilled an intense sense of responsibility for one another.  They had a very real desire to share their resources with each other and to share the message of the gospel with the world.

This desire to give and care for one another arose not from the law, but from the Holy Spirit.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the Christian life, we will always be led to grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness…

and never to hate, anger or retribution.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Children of God

1 John 3: 1-2a

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now;”

Christians, through their faith, belong to God and to the Kingdom of God.  We are not only called children of God, we are children of God.  It is up to us to embrace this identity in a world that shuts its eyes to God and His kingdom.  Our identity is centered around love and mercy and forgiveness.

The world does not understand love in the face of hate; mercy instead of retribution; forgiveness instead of revenge.  And so the world rejects the Kingdom of God and its children.

But in this rejection, we are drawn closer to Christ.  

May the love of Christ be with you

Rev. Eric Lanier

Examples of the Kingdom

Colossians 3: 1-2

“Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Paul asks that the Colossians concentrate on eternal things, the things of God, rather than earthly things.  If you read further in chapter 3, you will discover that the Colossians had a whole list of “earthly things” that occupied their time.  

As a people of faith, we live in the world, but we are not of the world.  We belong to the Kingdom of God, a kingdom in which love, and mercy and forgiveness reign.  Our lives are to be an example of this kingdom to the rest of the world.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

Kingdom People

Colossians 3: 1-3, 12-15

“1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.”

As Christians,  we live physically in this world.  But, spiritually, we live in the Kingdom of God.  The values of this world often conflict with the values of the Kingdom of God.  The world often tells us to be angry but Paul says we are to offer the compassion and patience of Christ.   The world tells us to be proud and arrogant but Paul says we are to be humble as Christ was humble.  The world tells us to seek revenge but Paul says we are to forgive as we are forgiven by Christ.

Above all, citizens of the Kingdom of God are to offer love and peace in a world where hate and war abound.

We are called to be different; to be examples of the life and love of Christ to the world.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

Words of Christ on the Cross, Part 1

Luke 23:33-34, 39-43

“33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

John 19:25-27

“25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

How is it that Jesus could express compassion for others while on the cross?  Each of the statements above in bold are statements that Jesus made after being beaten, whipped, scourged, spat upon, forced to carry his cross, nailed by the hands and ankles to the cross, then slowly suffocating to death because of the weight of His body pulling down on His arms.

Yet, his concern is for those who crucified Him, for the criminals who were crucified with Him, and for His mother.

How many of us are able to think beyond our own pain to the needs and suffering of others?

Christ did this on the cross.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Matthew 9:23)

This is the way.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)