Apr 24, 2011
Tommy Shelton
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice..." 1 Peter 1:3-6a
May you and your loved ones have a most blessed day today in celebration of the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins and then three days later rose from the dead. He is our Savior and Lord offering us forgiveness of sin, relationship with God, and eternal life starting now, if we will just believe it, put our trust in Him and follow Him.
Click here to learn more about who Jesus is.
Apr 19, 2011
Tommy Shelton
A friend of mine just sent me this...
Just a reminder that tonight is Passover. At sundown, our Lord, Savior, Rabbi, Older Brother, and Best Friend, would introduce His Body and His Blood to us all in the Communion meal. He would then wash the Apostles feet and devote himself to us. Over the course of the next 24 hours he would be betrayed and deserted by his friends, ridiculed by the priests who were to make him High Priest, spat upon by the subjects who He was to rule as King over. He would have his beard ripped off, thorns driven into his head, his flesh ripped from the bone, even his clothes gambled for. At his lowest they would feed him vinegar as drink, drive nails in his hands and feet, and malign him sarcastically, one last time, as "King of Jews." Worst of all, His Father would even temporarily cut off His son as Jesus yelled, "Oh Father Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me!" All this so that we would never be cut off from our Father and that through Jesus' wretchedness we would receive His Shalom, now, forever, and for all-time. I pray that all of us find the time to Commune with Him tonight, taking His Body, and washing in His Blood. Also, during this whole week of Passover, Feast of First Fruits, Days of Unleavened Bread and Easter, I pray that, in this new year in Jesus Christ, we all take every last thing that He died to give us and is dying to give us now! Love in Jesus, the Messiah, our Messiah!
Dec 27, 2010
Tommy Shelton
Well, it’s come and gone once again. Christmas is over. The space under the tree is empty, but the dumpsters are full. Christmas carols no longer play on the radio, but they’re still playing in our heads. New stuff gets tried on, exchanged, hooked up, played with, displayed, modeled, etc. The only rum ball left is the one far under the refrigerator that will still be there next Christmas. The mistletoe is shriveled up and the remaining sliver of the pie sits there waiting for mold. The company is either gone or now at risk of overstaying their welcome. And the siren songs of those after-Christmas-sales lure all gift certificates and cash gifts to come meet their demise.
Such is the aftermath of the Christmas of present day culture. But, as counter-cultural followers of Jesus Christ, this week between Christmas and New Year’s hopefully affords us some less frenetic time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas that is intended to continue giving the other 364 days of the year. It’s also a time to reflect on the year that’s about to pass and the one that’s about to burst on the scene. To that end, I invite you to read and ponder this: "The Purpose of Christmas" . And I pray that every single day of 2011, not just December 25th, is an inspiring, enriching and hope-producing experience of the fullness of the incarnation in your soul and life. Happy (as in truly blessed and fully content in Jesus Christ) New Year!
Aug 12, 2010
Tommy Shelton
My friend and I were talking about the Colossians series we're in at Fellowship when we met for coffee this week. We were remarking about the excellence and richness of this letter by Paul. It's pretty much got it all right there in just 4 chapters and 95 verses. We said we might choose it to take to a foreign land, a desert island or the moon if we could only take one such book of the Bible.
Paul starts the letter off with a beautiful offering of thanksgiving and prayer in verses 1-14 of chapter 1, which is a good prayer to pray for ourselves and others every day. In fact, my small group did just that every day for a week and the fruit was plentiful. Next, Paul gets to the most important thing that he wants to communicate, which is the absolute supremacy of Christ in verses 15-24. Just take a minute and let these words sink in....
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (NIV)
AMEN, HALLELUJAH, AWESOME, AMAZING, WOW and every other superlative in English or any other language! Wouldn't you agree?
In the next section of the letter, verses 1:24-2:5, we get insight into Paul's efforts and suffering on behalf of the church and his heart-felt encouragement for the people he was raising up in Christ. This is followed by a freeing and empowering section on freedom from human regulations through life with Jesus (2:6-23). Then comes chapter 3 and the first six verses of chapter 4 where Paul gives wise and life-giving instructions for holiness, for relationships lived out in ways that honor and serve Christ, and for watchful, expectant praying and purposeful, grace-filled conversation with others. He wraps up the letter in the rest of chapter 4 with final greetings and updates on some of his co-laborers. And just as he began the letter, he ends it with a blessing of grace.
I love the fact that throughout all of 2010 thus far we have been focusing on Jesus in our sermon series. First, was the series "Captivated" which was all about Jesus as an absolutely captivating King over an equally captivating Kingdom that we are invited to become captive to. Next, the "Hidden In Plain Sight" series traced the scarlet thread of God's love and plan of redemption through Jesus that is woven throughout the magnificent story of God's interaction with His children told in the Bible. Praise be to God that we can accept his invitation to receive that redemption and the abundant life that is ours in Christ Jesus, if we will only believe.
So, let us take our cue from Paul and set our hearts and minds on the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ, on the truths and principles laid out for us in this letter to the Colossians, and on the other "things above" rather than on the earthly things around us. For Christ is our life now. Colossians 3:1-4.
