tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post1127939723225312338..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: The highest obedience is faith (trust). . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-33909918788287688192011-12-20T12:35:21.433-06:002011-12-20T12:35:21.433-06:00Thank you, Rev. Peters, for a wonderful, uplifting...Thank you, Rev. Peters, for a wonderful, uplifting, faith-nourishing sermon. <br /><br />I thought long and hard about how to begin the next sentence, because I did not want it to appear that I wrote the previous one as a formality, just to be able to get to what really bothered me. So here it is: I don’t think there is anything wrong with the talk of “what would Jesus do.” Because we have the gift of faith, St. Paul tells us we can know what Jesus would do, 1 Corinthians 2: 14 “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. 16 ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” It is clear that St. Paul is not talking about some “special spirituality”; he includes all believers in “those who are spiritual.” The problem is with those who misrepresent our Lord, wanting to take advantage of the authority of His name to get support for their own views.<br /><br />An example: In June of 1989 I travelled to Moscow with a devout colleague in the company I was working for. He was a member of the Disciples of Christ. We had a lot of time on the plane to talk about our faith. As many people know, at the time, there were “hard currency stores” (Berezkas) in the Soviet Union, which were accessible only to foreigners. Russians were not allowed in. I mentioned to my friend, “Jesus would not go into a hard currency store.” He became incensed. He had gone to these stores, as had I. But he thought that doing something Jesus would not do made him a hopeless sinner. What I am saying is that it is good to know what Jesus would do, so that we can know how far our righteousness is from His. We must know what Jesus would do, but that does not mean we will always do it. The Gospel is indeed precious only to those who understand how hopeless they would be unless God Himself rescued them. That is what Jesus did do.<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-23612620322960394322011-12-20T07:43:10.366-06:002011-12-20T07:43:10.366-06:00Amen! Disciples, like Mary, the first disciple in...Amen! Disciples, like Mary, the first disciple in the New Covenant, are made by receiving gifts:) Thanks for the gifts you share with us.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350908137437557142noreply@blogger.com