Tag: christ’s power

Filled with Divine Fullness (Colossians 2:6-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Resurrection, by Oliver Pfaff

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Watch out that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by the removal of the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 

And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. (New Revised Standard Version)

On the television gameshow “Let’s Make a Deal,” selected members of the studio audience are offered something of value, and then given a choice of whether to keep it or exchange it for a different item.

The game’s drama is that the other item is hidden from the person until that choice is made. The participant does not know if the alternative item is of equal or greater value; or an item purposely chosen to be of little or no value.

The “deal” with Christianity is that Christians already have something of significant value. But they often lose it by going after something they aren’t even sure they actually want, or not.

Followers of Jesus have been given a valuable gift. And the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Church at Colossae was to go ahead and keep going with the prize you already possess.

Believers in Jesus have received him. Therefore, the believer is not to trade the words and ways of Jesus, and the redemption secured in Christ, for something else.

Instead, the Christian is to do their best to live into those words and ways, right now in daily life. Christians are invited to explore the vast spiritual resources of their gifted redemption.

Having been redeemed by the Cross of Christ, believers are deeply rooted in Jesus. They are on a firm foundation of faith. Christians possess a faith full of hope and love.

So then, believers are encouraged by the Apostle Paul to take everything they have been taught, and everything they have received, and run with it.

It doesn’t matter what is behind another door, or what is on the other side of the curtain; grab ahold of what you possess in Jesus Christ. Stop considering a better way to live, and start living the life that’s been given to you.

Allow gratitude and thanksgiving to arise within you, and to come forth out of you. Quit looking how much greener the grass is on the other side of the fence. That pasture isn’t really greener; and there is not really a better way.

Many people have become disillusioned with institutional religion. They’ve had it with church. So, some of them end up throwing out the baby with the bath water, entertaining all sorts of ideas and approaches other than the grace-filled Christianity they once received.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of spiritual charlatans who seek to bedazzle people with fine sounding words. But it’s all nothing but a bunch of pseudo-intellectual philosophical babble.

Yet, because the messenger appears confident and makes grand pronouncements, they let themselves be captured, and go with it. And there are others who become enamored with endless theological talk, that has neither any real effect on one’s daily life, nor eternal life.

The Apostle was warning the Colossian believers about getting lost in the myriad traditions and superstitions that have an absence of Christ in the middle of them.

The way of Jesus has Christ directly and purposefully at the core of one’s life. Anything less is to make a deal and see what is behind another door.

The way of Jesus has very little to do with a particular theological tradition about the end times, or a certain literal interpretive stance, or a liturgical or non-liturgical approach to the Christian life.

Everything of God is right, just, and good. And according to Christianity, it comes through the person and work of Jesus, through Christ’s words and ways as expressed in the New Testament Gospels.

It seems to me that the Apostle Paul would be aghast today at how many supposed Christian believers worship him and his epistles! Instead of giving their full adoration to Christ.

The last word doesn’t come from Paul, but from Jesus. Keep in mind that Paul worshiped Christ, and did not point people to himself as the be-all-end-all of any philosophical approach.

Jesus the Dancer, by Jyoti Sahi

Everything the Christian needs is within the fullness of Jesus Christ.

All things are empty without Christ, including the vast universe. The power and authority of Christ extends over all things and all people everywhere. Paul was insistent on this in all of the churches he established.

Thus, Christians must enter into the fullness of their Lord Jesus.

You can spend a lifetime, even an eternity after death, trying to figure out how God works, but you will never get to the end of it. God’s arm has that long of a reach. The fullness of Jesus is that big and filling. The strength of the Spirit is that powerful.

The heart and center of Christianity has nothing to do with circumcision, modes of baptism, keeping long lists of laws, or maintaining multiple spiritual practices. Because the Christian is already in, and already united with Christ.

This is why Paul prayed for believers to explore and realize what they already have in Christ, so that, with the eyes of their heart enlightened, they may perceive what is the hope to which God has called them, the riches of God’s glorious inheritance among the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of divine power for those who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

The Christian has been spiritually raised from the dead, just as Christ was physically raised from death to life. And believers will also be physically raised, as Jesus was, if they have the spiritual eyes to see it.

Think of all those times in the past when you were stuck, and living a dead-end existence. Remember how God made you alive in Christ. All of your guilt and shame forgiven. All the stuff that kept you down and out, all that kept you from God, was nailed to the Cross of Christ.

The malevolent forces of this world have been stripped of their power, and can be seen as the sham they actually are.

The Christian is delivered from sin, death, and hell. There is, therefore, no need for the believer to trade what they already have for whatever the heck is behind door number two.

It will not be nearly as valuable nor practical – not even close.

Being grounded in the person and work of Christ is where it’s at, my friend.

Watch out that nobody comes along and tries to sway you from Jesus. Don’t make any deals. You and I have Jesus. He is all we need.

Lord Jesus, you are worthy of our adoration, affection, and allegiance. Because of you, we don’t have to guess what God is like; there is no need to create our own image of God. Everything we need to know about God is revealed in and through you. Along with the Father and the Spirit, you have always existed in perfect relationship and unimaginable wonder.

Blessed Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve, may your divine dance of Father, Son, and Spirit pulsate within me, and flow out of me in a trust that you are enough. Then I will know that I, too, am enough as I avoid the false philosophies and promises of this world.

Almighty God, you fill the center of my being, so that I can let You be You, and so, be content and at peace, despite the alternative voices that chatter constantly around me. May your will be done, today and every day, to the glory of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

The Logic of Faith and Prayer (Mark 9:14-29)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Help Thou My Unbelief, by J. Kirk Richards

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (New International Version)

Please, stick with me here, on what I see as the logic which undergirds this story:

God has authority over everything. God is powerful. Therefore, God can do the miraculous.

Humans have limited authority over some things. Humanity is sometimes strong, yet often weak. Therefore, humans must look outside themselves for a miracle.

God created people. Humans reflect the divine image and likeness of God. Therefore, God and humanity are inextricably linked.

God has miraculous power. Humans can have confidence (faith and hope) in God’s power. Therefore, miracles can happen when God’s power meets human confidence in that power.

God is personal. Humans are personal. Therefore, humans can know God.

God listens to human prayers. Humans have the ability to pray to God. Therefore, God’s power and human faith in that power are very much connected to each other.

Since God is authoritative, powerful, and personal, then God’s choice and ability to effect miracles is not an impersonal force which can be used and manipulated by humans, but rather is a gift to be prayed for and received with gratitude to God.

This then, is why Jesus seems exasperated with the experience of a botched exorcism, because:

  1. The father and the crowd have a profound lack of faith in God’s authority and power to personally effect the miraculous.
  2. The disciples have a disappointing lack of prayer in their own ministry.

The father of the son with the bad spirit was understandably desperate. And, on top it, disappointed with the disciples’ inability to do anything about the situation. The issue, however, is never about God’s ability – which is where the father went in talking to Jesus.

“If you are able” expresses little confidence in Christ.

Jesus emphatically replied that everything can be done for the one who believes. To which the father, still desperate, but then adding a healthy dose of honesty, confessed: “I believe; help my unbelief!”

That was all Jesus needed. The father’s humble and honest confession opened the soul’s door to receive the gift of faith. And the boy was rid of the bad spirit.

Furthermore, the father was also rid of his own bad spirit. The man was not demonized, like his son, nevertheless he possessed a spirit of ill confidence. The encounter with Jesus changed him, as well. It wasn’t just one person who walked away healed; both a father and a son were healed.

As often happened, the disciples left the scene with Jesus scratching their heads. They couldn’t figure out their own inability and failure to help the desperate father and his demonized son.

The bad spirit was indeed a stubborn one, and quite hard to deal with. Jesus told his disciples that one like this can only come out for those who nurture the spiritual habit of prayer.

Essentially, Jesus was saying that the vital connection between God and humans is dependent upon God. People don’t give orders to God, or act as the keepers and manipulators of divine power, like the ancient magicians did with their gods.

Rather, humans pray and ask for what they need, based upon the quality of their connection with God. This isn’t about the level of faith; it’s about whether there is any connection.

I can have lots of faith that my desk lamp will illuminate if I tell it to, but it won’t light unless I plug it in and turn it on. And if I do that, and the lamp will not turn on, then I know there is a problem with the connection – and not with my level of faith in making the lamp light up.

Everything in life must be maintained well, and taken care of. If it isn’t, it will eventually stop working, and may even fall into complete disrepair.

Faith and prayer are not simply tools which we wield with our own authority and autonomy. They must be developed and used with care for where they’ve come from.

Our prayers are opportunities for us to establish and maintain our vital connection with God via faith. Then, whenever we are in dire straits, the confidence is there, because of our connection with the Lord; nothing is hindering the power from flowing and lighting up the situation.

At its heart, Christianity is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And that relational connection has been brought about God, not me; and the means to maintain the relationship is from God, not me. Yet, we get to enjoy this beautiful access.

So, take advantage of it.

O Lord, our blessed Companion in life and death, your love is steadfast and never ends. Our wondering and weeping may linger in the night, but you give joy in the morning. Touch us with your healing grace so that, restored to wholeness, we may live our calling as your faithful resurrected people. Amen.

Don’t Fear, Believe! (Mark 5:21-43)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Jesus heals the daughter of Jairus, by Hyatt Moore

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 

Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.

Then he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat. (New Revised Standard Version)

Christ Healing the Hemorrhaging Woman, by Ivan Rutkovych, 1698

Hopeless. That’s how two people felt in today’s story. One of them a woman, and the other the father of a little girl.

To have a sense of hopelessness is perhaps one of the worst feelings a person could ever have; it is to suffer with the despair that your suffering isn’t going to end.

It was still early in Christ’s earthly ministry. Jesus had already performed amazing exorcisms and healed people. His fame was spreading, and crowds began to form everywhere he went.

The Hemorrhaging Woman

The woman had suffered for 12 years with hemorrhaging. She went through a string of doctors with no answers to her malady. Her condition drained her not only bodily, but also emotionally and financially. Despite everything she tried, not only did things not get better, but they got worse.

She likely didn’t get out much because of her situation. But even if she did, the woman would have to literally remain on the margins of the community because of all the blood. In other words, she was unclean, and anyone who touched her would be, as well.

I see many folks in my line of work who have had an adverse health condition for years. Some of them have had a debilitating illness for so long that the sickness is what now defines them. Their daily schedule is ruled by doctor appointments and therapy sessions. Their health maladies have taken over their identity.

Despair and desperation are close cousins. The woman’s desire to gain back her life aroused the courage to seek out Jesus. And she believed that by resolutely getting through the crowd of people, that even if the edge of his cloak could be touched, restoration would happen.

True faith leads us to act in a way that seems irrational to others.

The woman pushed and wormed her way close enough to Jesus to touch just the edge of his cloak… and the effect was immediate. She felt it in her body. The woman was cured with but a simple touch.

Then the woman became afraid, realizing that Jesus was aware that someone touched him. And a woman, no less, who had a hemorrhaging issue. Christ looked around, trying to find out who did it.

The extreme awareness of Jesus contrasts with the blatant unawareness of his disciples. They dismissed their Teacher’s investigation because of all the people who clamored around him. But Jesus was determined to find the person who touched him.

The woman realized she could not hide what she did, and what happened. With her robust faith in Jesus, she was willing to face any consequence for touching the rabbi. She was so scared that she trembled as she talked to Jesus. The woman revealed her story to him of who she is and what brought her to this point.

Genuine faith and healing always brings light, because grace and redemption will have its way in this fallen dark world.

Whereas we might expect a religious leader to respond with disdain or shock, and likely a firm rebuke, Jesus honored the woman by calling her “daughter.” He truly saw her, and publicly bestowed blessing and peace upon her.

Jesus confirmed and affirmed the woman’s healing in front of everyone. She was hopeless no more.

The Sick Young Girl

Christ continued his journey to young girl’s house. Her faither, Jairus the synagogue ruler, appealed to Jesus to come and heal her. She was at the end of life. As the father of three daughters myself, I can easily imagine the despair and desperation of Jairus concerning his precious little girl’s condition.

Somehow he knew there was only one hope for his daughter; Jairus needed Jesus because there was nothing he could do, or anybody could do, to save her. And once he got to Jesus, his poverty of spirit was evident, his humility palpable.

Jairus fell to his knees and became a spiritual beggar. He pleaded with Jesus to come and lay healing hands on his dear girl.

But his hope morphed into hopelessness; while on the way, Jairus received the devastating news that his daughter had died. All is lost… or is it?

Jesus didn’t think so. He simply gave a hopeful reassurance, “Don’t fear. Believe!” To the unbeliever, those words must seem cruel – giving a father whose child has died false hope. But for God, nothing is impossible. In God’s kingdom, death never has the last say on a person’s life.

It’s hard to have faith and hope whenever everyone else is mourning and crying and grieving. Arriving at the house, Jesus said yet another possibly cruel thing: “The child’s not dead but sleeping.” Christ understood that she was not all dead, just mostly dead.

The nervous and stressed laughing of the people in the house did nothing to deter Jesus. He was supremely confident about what would happen – a future that no one else could yet see.

A simple command, just a few words, was all it took. Taking the girl’s mother and father into the room, I imagine Jesus saying with a combination of authority and compassion, “Little girl, get up!”

Since Christ’s authority knows no bounds, the girl immediately got up. She was alive – so alive that it’s as if nothing ever made her ill to begin with.

Only a Story?

You may think this is only a story. Perhaps you believe there’s nothing to this, other than an ancient follower of Jesus trying to make his Teacher look like a healer, a savior.

For me, the story confirms what I know and believe to be true from my own experience as a church pastor, hospital chaplain, and follower of God: The impossible happens with Jesus. Christ is more powerful than anything life throws at us. Jesus is enough.

Amen. Soli Deo Gloria.

Victory Over the Power of Evil (Luke 4:31-37)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed—his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to.

In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, “Stop! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to. You’re the Holy One of God and you’ve come to destroy us!”

Jesus shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn’t hurt him.

That knocked the wind out of everyone and got them whispering and wondering, “What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?” Jesus was the talk of the town. (The Message)

During his earthly life and ministry, Jesus was a Deliverer and a Liberator; he came to save people from their guilt and shame, and to free the world from the clutches of evil.

And so, it was inevitable that Jesus would come into conflict with the forces of darkness.

In today’s story, Jesus had a confrontation with an unclean spirit, that is, a demon who is an ally of the devil. The particular demon was not only speaking for himself, but also for his fellow band of wicked spirits.

Christ’s ministry put him in direct opposition to the hosts of Satan. The nub of the issue for the demon was whether Jesus had come for their immediate destruction. Jesus, however, wasn’t in the habit of answering questions from demons.

So, Christ rebuked the demon, told him to get out of the person he was influencing. And that is exactly what happened. The writer, Luke, pointed out that this demonstrated Christ’s authority, that it even includes the power to command unclean spirits, and out they go.

And that is how the liberating and saving ministry of Jesus began.

In the Gospel of Luke, this account of Jesus being confronted by a demon happens just after Christ’s 40 days of being tempted in the desert, even by Satan himself. So, the entire demonic realm was alert to beginning ministry of Christ. They went after Jesus right away, perhaps trying to trip him up before he could get any ministerial momentum.

Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath in the town of Capernaum. We ought not to be surprised that a demonized man was among those observing the Sabbath. The wise believer will be savvy to this reality.

Furthermore, we aren’t told who the man was or of any symptoms he may have had. Apparently, he presented himself as a normal Jewish villager. So, we ought not to think that anyone being demonized will necessarily demonstrate madness or illness of some sort.

The demon was perhaps more aware of who Jesus was than anyone else there on that Sabbath Day in Capernaum. He acknowledged Christ’s power and mission. Jesus indeed came to destroy the power and influence of evil in the world.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

James 2:19, NIV

Since Jesus Christ is the rightful authority over all, that means Satan and his wicked spirits are not; and they must submit to that true and real power.

Truth and doctrine are not only about objective facts and right belief. Even though our thinking is important and critical, there is more to it than that: Orthodoxy (right belief) requires orthopraxy (right actions).

A right truth that is only described is not the whole truth. In reality, a false witness and a liar may state the truth, but not entirely, withholding important information; thus, impairing any sort of right action from taking place.

Gaslighting relatives, oppressive bosses, and tyrannical rulers who tell some truth, and even support some good things, are still gaslighting and oppressing others with their narcissistic brand of leadership.

Truly, believers in and followers of Jesus can sometimes be duped into supporting evil leaders who use all sorts of unjust tactics, just because that leader tells the part of truth I want upheld.

Jesus saves; he is Savior of the world – but that is only part of the truth. We must also ask: What has Christ come to save us from? Not just our mistakes, mess-ups, and sins. Christ came to deliver us from the very power of evil that supports injustice and unrighteous behavior to begin with.

If we merely view Jesus as our personal Savior from hell after we die, then we will likely focus almost exclusively on heaven. But if we see all the freedom we need from unhealthy behaviors and unjust ways, then we view Christ as so much more than a fire insurance policy.

We need a more expansive understanding of Christ’s cross. Yes, Jesus died for our sins. Yet, he also died to conquer evil; Christ made it possible for us to become liberated from the shackles of systemic sin and structural evil, as well as personal guilt. In other words, Christ came to topple all evil, and not just human foibles.

And this was why the dark powers of Satan, and his demons, were so afraid of Jesus. They knew their time was short. There is yet another power that has a hold on us today – and that is the reality that many people no longer believe in demons and devils and dark forces.

Since we are a technically advanced people with great understanding of medical science, we now know all sorts of things which cause physical and mental illness. Ancient people did not know about human hormones and chemicals, and the impact of genetic codes on our health. They had no idea about bacteria and viruses, microbes and hygiene.

Therefore, we can jettison all this mumbo-jumbo about demons, right?… Not so much.

Even with all of our modern (and postmodern) explanations for the body and brain, we are still finding ourselves having to contend with the mystery of evil, and the malevolent suffering it causes us.

We modern folk can certainly provide a lot of insight into the cause and effect of particular symptoms a person has according to their biology. And yet, that doesn’t take away the presence of malevolent forces on this earth.

Even with all of our understanding, evil still resides within organizations, institutions, and even faith communities. The meanness and malevolence, the injustice and the ingratitude, and the profound violence (both verbal and physical) which one human being can exact on another is still here – and some would argue that it’s worse than ever.

Knowing something isn’t the same as doing it. If that were true, then education ought to deliver us from evil. Even some intelligent and objective people, who are fluent in facts and figures, still use their calculations for evil.

No matter our creeds or convictions, whether we are religious or not, all of us seem to have a collective sense that this old world of ours is profoundly broken.

All the research dollars in the world has not produced a solution to fix evil. And even if we could completely understand evil, that isn’t the same as ridding ourselves of it.

What’s more, those who put all their trust in changing things through modern means (which means without God) have been some of the worst offenders of producing wars, political tyranny, and gross injustice.

To put all of this perhaps more succinctly in the form of question: We know and understand a lot in combating disease, disaster, and death; but does all of that insight do away with the evil of it? Are things less tragic now?

I argue that is has not. Evil is still evil. Chronic pain, homelessness, poverty, injustice, and health inequities are still wreaking their evil on people.

I believe that evil really does exist, even if it has different language today than it did in the ancient world.

There is real opposition, conflict, and confrontation from evil today. The victory Christ has achieved over the forces of evil has a 2,000 year track record of helping people experience renewed lives, even when their bodies are wasting away.

In the end, the victory of Jesus Christ shall become evident to all the world. Overcoming evil doesn’t come from us, but from God. We can and we must deal with evil in this world. But we are not the Savior or the Liberator.

We need faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Amen.