“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies”.

In the Old Testament, the Temple was in Jerusalem and when Jesus died, the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom. God no longer dwells in the temple made with human hands. God dwells in the hearts of human beings.

“But what does it say?” The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: (Romans 10:8)”

You do not have to travel to Jerusalem to the old temple as the living word of God is inside of you through Christ indwelling you by His Holy Spirit. His Spirit is in you and at any time you can draw from His presence in your life.

I had a difficult day 2 weeks ago and I went straight to God on an issue. When I did this God was there at the time. God was with me as I started to pray and ask God to help me, God was present.

Ruling Over Your body

• The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved- I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection.” (1 Cor. 9:27) God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19) (quote: Oswald Chambers)

The life that we live is about looking after the body we have and treating it well. When we abuse our body we are not looking after what we have been given control over and we limit what we can do. Jesus said:

¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.

When the Apostle Peter had a vision on the roof top of a house in Joppa, God said to Him that all food was clean when he showed Peter in the vision all types of animals and food and said “What God has cleansed, you must not make unholy ” (Acts 10:15).

It is not about you following everyone else and doing what others want. You have a vast selection of food and you have a vast selection of decisions to make that are about you and those you love. The word for salvation in the bible is “Sozo” which means completely whole in every area of life. This is not just about spiritual salvation it is about every area of your life being complete and when we are thinking of food then God wants us to enjoy what we eat.

It is also not about being fat, skinny, over weight or under weight as it should be about you being happy and healthy regardless of your body weight or the pressure you and others are putting on you. Congruence is important in your life as congruence is about you being in line with yourself and true to who you are as a person. Many of us are incongruent as we allow the pressure from others to rule our lives and thus we become angry, frustrated and unhappy. In John 10:10 Jesus said He wanted us to have life in the fullest so our journey is not only self fulfilment in future goals it is also about enjoying what we have now and being true to ourselves in every aspect of life around our health and well being.

The bible says “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12)”. So our dilemma is not about the law as this is nothing to do with our righteousness as we are righteous in Christ not on the basis of what we do or eat this is about our quality of life the profitability that the scripture is talking about. I’m tempted by apple pies with cream and when I eat them I am tempted by their appearance in the shop window and also by the taste but after eating them I start to feel tired and lethargic. For me apple pies are lawful and tasty but they are not profitable for my health and well being.

“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify” (1Corinthians 10:23). So I can enjoy what I want, but when enjoying those things, I need to look at how helpful they are to my health, well being and enjoyment in life. A glass of wine could be therapeutic when I get home after a hard day at work, but if I am mastered over wine, and I have a dependency in alcohol, then that glass of wine is not profitable, nor is it edifying. That glass of wine becomes a burden that enslaves me into the web of dependency and addiction.

When I eat and drink, I eat and drink to enjoy life “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). My life is about reflecting God’s peace, righteousness and joy by enjoying what I eat and being sensitive to others, without feeling the pressure of being someone I’m not. My food and my drink is my business and I should not be judged about these areas of my life. If I’m mastered by these areas due to over eating, under eating dependency and addiction and concerned relatives and friends encourage me to reflect on my wrong actions, that is a different story. If I’m getting medical advice that I need to follow through on due to abuse of my body, then that is also a different matter. This matter is about living with the convictions of your own decision making and looking after the temple (body) God has given you so that you can enjoy you life to the fullest.

God Bless,

Pastor Mark Bohr

The post Your Body is the Temple appeared first on The Emerging Church.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

Through Christ we have a new nature.

The new nature is the righteousness that has come from a perfect sacrifice. We are forgiven of our sin on the cross and we have also been imparted with a new nature.

Ephesians 4:23-24 Amplified Bible (AMP)

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],

And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.

Isaiah 61:10 Amplified Bible (AMP)

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Example:  I officiated a wedding yesterday of a young couple. When the bride walked down to the groom, the groom wouldn’t be thinking ‘she forgot to wash my clothes today’ or something else in reference to a mistake. No, the groom is looking at the bride and he is saying that she is beautiful, her jewels, her dress, her hair. The bride isn’t looking to the groom and saying ‘you drove 5 kilometres over the speed limit to my mum’s place yesterday’. The bride is thinking how handsome and dashing her man is looking. The garland today in a wedding is a tie in the western world.

The bride and groom looked stunning and their focus was on each other’s special look in the celebration. With Christ righteousness every day is a celebration as he sees us and we see Him. Christ sees us not as in the old garments but in the new garments. We have a special robe of righteousness. Christ does not see our sins or our mistakes, Christ sees us in the celebration of new life as a child of God.

If we focus on sin in our lives, are we focusing on the old garment that condemns us rather than the new garment that sets us free?

Our lives are now complete. We are forgiven and we stand pure and holy not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done through us and for us. We have been given a gift, newness of life, liberty, freedom, righteousness.

Can you imagine if the bride decided to not put on her wedding dress and jewellery and went to the wedding in her underpants?

The groom would run up to the bride and try to cover her or he would be frozen and very upset. The bride is wearing her garments. We come to church not wearing our garments sometimes. We walk in feeling sorry for ourselves or we feel bad about something we did wrong or we just feel rotten and we don’t know why.

You have the garments of righteousness but you would rather wallow in despair rather than put on that garment of righteousness. Can I say something to you?

You are clean! You are forgiven! You are a new creation! You are righteous! You are holy!

Don’t walk around with your underwear when you have your wedding garments.  

Galatians 6:15

For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah].

Circumcision was an issue in Paul’s time that was based on the law. Our focus on the law takes us away from the true areas of our total dependence on God and His grace.

Why is it that the Apostle Paul says that it is “for freedom that Christ set us free” but many Christians are not free?

Could our focus be on ourselves rather than the finished work of Christ?

Christ has completed His work and He is seated at the right hand side of the Father. You are in that complete work and as you take hold of all that Christ has done you will be free.

Where is the law now?

Romans 7:22

For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature].

Ezekiel said “I will give you a new heart. I will take the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”

The law is now in us by the indwelling presence of God in our lives.

The law is now inside of us and that law is springing forth out of our lives by His Holy Spirit

This week allow His finished work to be complete in your life. Look at the new garments instead of wallowing in the past. God has set you free now live out that freedom so that you can be all that God has called you to be.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Bohr

The post Your Garment of Righteousness appeared first on The Emerging Church.

I shared last week that I had a dream 20 years ago in which I could see my reflection. In that reflection God revealed to me what was on the inside of me. I was 34 at the time with a young family and I should have been happy. My desire was to serve God in my life and God pulled me back and was telling me to wait. The scripture Isaiah 40:31 was all I was hearing after leaving the ministry at the end of 1992 and having time off. I remember one day in 1994 when we lived at Bonnet Bay I came home from working at a garage and a kite was resting on the driveway just where I pulled up, the kite just happen to be an eagle.

For years I was striving and struggling to make God do great things and God was telling me to stop it, but I didn’t. I was like a dog going back to the vomit. I was telling people you can be set free but I was not free, I was entangled in a web of good works that were based on wrong theological concepts around God.

In our lives we do what we know, what we’ve learnt, and how we think we are meant to live our lives. Has anyone heard of “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)”?

CBT is an effective way to treat a variety of conditions, including mood, anxiety, personality, eating, substance abuse, tic condition, and psychotic disorders. CBT is evidence based in dealing with a problem. Its first focus is on emotions and thoughts so that the client can re-learn bad behaviour. The bible is full of CBT but I would like to bring your attention to one simple scripture.

Romans 12: 1-2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As followers of Christ we can change the way we act so that we don’t go back to what we’ve always done. To truly understand God we come to a place in which we truly understand ourselves, our thought processes, our emotions, our reactions and our whole lives. We can change from entanglement to freedom.

Entanglement to Freedom

In the different companies that I work as a chaplain and a counsellor, I work with a lot of people and a lot of the time I don’t see a big difference between someone who has faith and someone who does not believe in God. People who do not believe in God can have less hang –ups than people that do believe in God.

I have a number of atheist friends who I respect greatly as they are people who have a lot of morals. One of these atheist friends of mine sacrificed his 150,000 dollar a year job because he would not follow certain procedures in the company that were trying to create fear and instability in the work place. Isn’t it true that if you get people worried about their future employment and instability of the company they work for, that you may be able to manipulate them into making big sacrifices for the good of the company so that they don’t lose their jobs?

This can happen a lot and, as a manager, this man did not agree with the strategy. Why entangle people when you can set them free?

Jesus wants to set us free not entangle us. Jesus came to destroy the works that entangled us in a web of deceit. Like the dog returning to its own vomit we can return to our thoughts of confinement and restriction in our faith, and this limits us in our potential.

The Church has made the same mistake over the 2,000 years since Jesus’ death. We have tried to go back to the way in which we can control people, make them fear about their futures so that they can sacrifice and live in fear and serve God thinking that if they don’t then they will be less of a Christian, that they won’t be good enough.

Jesus spoke the parable to deal with this problem when He spoke about two people getting employed by the same company. One person started at the beginning of the day and was offered an amount that he agreed upon. The other person started at the end of the day and was offered the same amount regardless of the day nearing the end. At the end of the day both men were given the same amount and the one that worked a lot more was upset that the person that started later got the same amount even though he had worked less. Jesus said that the owner of the company said “I’m the owner and I can decide what I want to do. You received the amount you agreed on so go now and stop being jealous of the one that worked less”

God’s grace is extended to all and we who have served a lot should not put pressure on those who have done little. If we as leaders try to make people feel bad and put pressure on them to serve more, we ourselves are presenting a message of entanglement instead of freedom. We would be attempting to manipulate the masses into doing what we want as we are portraying a self righteous attitude that is really about how much we have done and how much others need to do.

Our entanglement is about us not doing enough. We have been manipulated in the past and like a dog going back to its vomit we think we need to constantly prove ourselves by what we do rather than just enjoying our freedom.

The scripture says renewing your mind and finding the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. How do we do that?

Romans 2:29: New American Standard Bible (NASB): ²⁹ But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

The Church is saying please the leader, please Mark Bohr, but the scripture is saying please God. The Church is saying you need to look good and be seen as following the program, but God is saying that inside you is a work that God is doing that cannot be seen by others. That internal work is about you and God connecting and expressing an intimate relationship that is one of a kind.

You wrestle with thoughts of “I’ve got to please this person, I’ve got to look good, I’ve got to follow the party line or otherwise I might lose my 150,000 dollar job.” You wrestle with “I’ve got to do what I’m told and if I have an opinion I will look like a trouble maker”. These are pressures that we all have and God is saying don’t get entangled in man’s ideology. Don’t go back to the old way of working and looking the part so that you can stand out. Don’t be ruled by the fear of man’s leadership that will restrict and hinder the free flow of self identity.

Make this day a new day with new beginnings that you now are on a journey of self discovery in the scriptures, and in life. That self discovery is best explored through a connection with God of asking Him the good, pleasing and perfect will. Following others will see you fall short of that perfect will, but following God’s plan for your life with the thoughts of pleasing God will open up greater doors of opportunity that will set you free forever.

God bless.

Pastor Mark Bohr

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1 Corinthians 13:12-13

New International Version (NIV)

¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Introduction

When we see new life it is wonderful. I remember seeing my boys when they were first born and, not only did I see new life, but I saw a reflection of myself in them. This reflection I can still see in each of them as they move into different areas in life, in their mannerisms, their habits, their qualities and at times their shortfalls.

In new life you can see your reflection and I mostly like what I see. In 1992, when I had finished pastoring a country Church, Jacqueline and I moved back to the Sutherland Shire in Sydney, then for 2 years God had pulled me back from Ministry. Prior to that I was Pastoring for 7 years and during those 2 years I became frustrated, impatient and I started to feel sorry for myself due to missed opportunities.

One night, in 1994, I had a dream that really upset me and also helped change my direction. In my dream I was looking into a lake and I saw my reflection as a cranky old man with a sour look on my face. When I woke up, I remember being very upset. I was a 34 year old young man who had a young family and I had no wrinkles. It seemed like at 34 years of age my reflection was old, worn-out, sour, upset with life and disappointed.

Reflecting New Life

It was a Sunday morning, and that morning I rushed to Church as they had an 8am service and I said to myself ‘I don’t want to reflect weariness and oldness. I want to reflect new life’.

I was fortunate enough to have a really good father. Adam was a great man who for the first 20 years of my life was happy, loving and full of life. Due to a number of bad things happening to his family over the years, Adam Bohr started to become disillusioned, and when he was 85 years old he was reflecting a lot of that disappointment. At 87 when he was on his death bed, I saw a reflection after my niece had sent a lovely text message. I saw a reflection of new life once again.

I saw this also when my mother was dying at 62 years of age of ovarian cancer. My mother had undiagnosed clinical depression and was shut up in her room for a lot of the time, but when I saw my mother and father interacting when the doctors told dad that mum had 3 months to live, I saw new life in their relationship. I saw them smiling at each other. I heard the words “I love you” and I witnessed this new life as they reflected that to one another in mums last days of her life on earth.

Life in Death Camps

In those life experiences I found out that new life can be found in the strangest of places. Viktor Emil Frankl, M.D., Ph.D. (26 March 1905 – 2 September 1997) was an Austrian Neurologist and Psychiatrist, as well as a Holocaust survivor. Frankl was the founder of ‘Logotherapy’, which is a form of existential analysis, the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy”. His best-selling book Man’s Search for Meaning (published under a different title in 1959: From Death-Camp to Existentialism, and originally published in 1946.  Say “Yes” to Life: A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camp) chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate which led him to discover the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most sordid ones, and thus, a reason to continue living.

Victor Frankl found new life and new meaning in a place of despair, desperation and human depravity. Frankl was a psychiatrist who went through the death camps in the Second World War and was liberated 1945 by the Americans. Before Frankl was liberated, he found new life in the purpose in serving and helping others. Frankl saw his reflection of meaning in the life reflection of those in need. Frankl lost most of his family in death camps but he was determined not to let the enemy win and take away his happiness, so Frankl continued to live with meaning and to reflect the life of purpose regardless of his great loss.

Christ’s Reflection to Humanity

The apostle Paul in his narrative of “love” communicates the reflection we see is only a dim image and one day we will shine even more brightly. The apostle Paul says the greatest of these is “faith, hope and love”.

When there is hopelessness and despair, God’s love shines through. That love is there all the time. Victor Frankl and Regina Jonas a female Jewish Rabbi would be on a suicide watch and Frankl organized a unit to help camp newcomers who came to the Nazi Ghetto in 1942 to overcome shock and grief when they arrived. These people, Frankl & Jonas, would show a different reflection to the depravity of human life they saw in the Nazi Ghetto’s and death camps. In the midst of hopelessness & human depravity they encouraged others to look to God and to draw from the new life within.

The apostle Paul encourages us to focus on love in the midst of indifference, just as Jesus did in His human reflection. When we see Christ and His reflection we see love, grace, and empathy. When I look at the religious leaders of Christ’s time, we can see those who were judgemental, intolerant, uncaring and dogmatic.

For you the manifestation of that could be an uncaring boss, family member, Christian, a leader or someone that has treated you badly, and the only way to deal with this evil that you feel is to reflect the new life that God has given through His son Jesus Christ. That new life is within you. A lot of the world is reflecting the fallen human nature of hate and intolerance and even the Church has gone along for the ride. I’ve been on that bus, and so have you. The bus of they deserve what they get, the bus of intolerance, the bus of judgement and unfairness. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama,  Rosa Parks was on that bus of intolerance and Rosa made a stand in which she kept seated. Rosa was ordered to give up her seat to a white passenger in the coloured section and she refused to comply with the bus drivers orders. Out of that bus came a non-violent protest for equality that continues to gain momentum to this day.

Out of Christ’s sacrifice comes a reflection of life that today can also be activated. God came to you, you didn’t come to Him. Just like Rosa Parks, God doesn’t want you to move on that bus. You’ve been hurt, mistreated, spoken to badly, ignored and you’re confused. God is saying “stay seated and allow me to work on your behalf”. Just accept my love into your life today. I’m doing what Frankl and Jonas did when people came into contact with them. I’m telling you to draw from God and to draw from the life within and reflect the new life of God.

Draw Near to God and Find a New Reflection

Regardless of circumstance, God wants you to draw from that new life. Jesus called it a well that is within. In another passage in John, Jesus called it a river of life. Let that river flow, let that life come forth.

This week I want to ask you;

What are you reflecting?

What is going on in your life that is making you reflect the fallen human nature?

I looked at my refection at 34 years old and I didn’t like what I saw. What can you do to change your reflection if you don’t like what you see?

Victor Frankl and Regina Jonas saw a bad refection in people in the Ghettos and death camps and they decided to be people who could change their world. What can you do to change your world?

Rosa Parks was on the bus of indifference and Rosa became famous for not moving when the pressure was on to conform. What can you do when you see indifference in your world?

Jesus reflected new life in His death so that we might be able to access the life of God at any time. How can you reflect Christ to others?

The post Reflection of New Life appeared first on The Emerging Church.

For most of the Old Testament period, Israel had a relationship with God that was dysfunctional and unhealthy. God on numerous occasions proclaimed that Israel was unfaithful and that Israel did not respond to God in a way that was based on an intimate relationship. (Jeremiah 2:1-9)

That is why Ezekiel predicts a future in which Israel will see God differently.

^“26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:26-28).                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

For Israel it was not just a behavioural issue for God, it was mainly a problem with communication, as a lot of what God was saying wasn’t understood. That is why, according to Ezekiel, there needed to be a mind change, a spirit change.

The apostle Paul addresses this issue in the Corinthian Church. While they were trying to live the way of God through external concepts, they seemed to be failing big time. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Israel had a problem understanding the words of God as they came from a place of intimacy, and not a place of forced application. Israel seemed to be between a rock and a hard place as they had been trying to follow but always falling short. Their following was one of forced application rather than intimacy of acquaintance.

Intimacy in Relating to God

King David came into the understanding of intimacy in relationship to God and, as a result, God made a covenant with David that his descendant will be the Christ and there will be no end to His government. Jesus was that descendant.

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22).

David understood God as David was intimately acquainted with Him. For David it was not a chore to follow God. The way that David lived his life was from a desire to know and love God. As a shepherd boy David would have spent many hours alone with God and from this foundation he moved into areas unknown to humanity. At that time in history, man understood God to be harsh and void of human emotion, but through King David we have a new understanding that God desired intimacy. It is from a place of intimacy with God that we have a desire to follow God. People immediately think that when it comes to God and religion we need to do what God says out of fear that we may be judged, but David, who made many mistakes, continued to have a strong relationship with God as he came to understand God’s heart of forgiveness for his creation.

David came to a place where his life was consumed by intimacy. If we read the Psalms we can get a greater understanding of this. “How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!² My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:1-2) is just one of many of the expressions of David and those who had been influenced by his passion.

Not the Law

So many of us think that we just need to do what we are told and that in itself will please God, but God does not want us to follow Him out of a regiment requirement. “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” – though they were offered in accordance with the law (Hebrews 10:8a).

Can we follow the principles of God but yet miss the essence of what God wants us to do in our lives?

Yes we can, as the Pharisees and religious leaders at the time of Jesus ministry were very big on the law and the requirements and missed completely what Jesus was teaching. Jesus chose those whose heart was connected to a place in which they wanted a greater understanding of life through relationship. These people were the roughest, meanest and most unacceptable people in Israel but it was these people Jesus chose to build His church.

The Spirit 

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

As we move away from the dos and don’ts and focus on talking to God and being real with Him, we may start to hear the still small voice in our heart and minds. We may start to connect with this God that seems so distant. This connection will come through relationship in which Ezekiel says “I will put my spirit in you” referring to God living and breathing His breath of life in us and through us.

“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Hebrews 10:8 b).

This law is not a regiment requirement but a love and intimate relationship of peace, tranquillity and beauty. We have made God to look ugly because we have an ugly understanding of Him. We think He is someone void of relationship and just wanting to judge us for wrong doing. God is the most caring, forgiving, embracing and understanding relationship I know, and His care and love is unlimited. He forgives when we do not deserve forgiveness and He loves those who see themselves as unlovable or unloved.

To truly find this God we must move away from the wrong concepts of a harsh and uncaring God and start to relearn, and be open to, the God who wants to be your friend.

Pastor Mark Bohr

The post Dysfunctional Relationships appeared first on The Emerging Church.

Pastor Mark Bohr

What an amazing time we are in at The Emerging Church and Beachside Church Central Coast.

The leadership of Beachside Church had a strong impression to close the Church in November of 2011 for 6 weeks during the Christmas break. God was wanting to put to death the old and eventually start the new. For 14 months we have been holding meetings at my home. On the 31st of March 2013 we are celebrating resurrection Sunday with the opening of a new service at Avoca beach, and the opening of the website www.theemergingchurch.com.au

Jesus died a sinner’s death. It seemed like He was defeated, but on the third day after His death He was resurrected. His new life was eternal and His accomplishment was complete. He took the burden of sin and death and He nailed it to a tree. The apostle Paul said

“where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”(1 Corinthians 15:55).

Through Christ death, defeat and failure cannot hold us down. When the world say’s death is final, God turns around and raises up His Son. When the world says that you are a defeated, you have failed, God turns around and gives you the victory of new life. The purpose of this resurrection is life once for all. God wants to express life. We were dead and now we are alive. Beachside is alive because Jesus, through His death, continues to raise us up. We are now in the place of God having His way. As we lay down our plans and ambitions and put our hands into the resurrected saviour’s nail pierced hands, He will do what we cannot. He will give us the miracle of life that produces fruit.

That fruit is living in a new way, trusting God with your life and allowing Him to be all you need Him to be.

Death represents pain, grief and dismay, but resurrection represents life, liberty and freedom. Through Christ we have a new freedom to be ourselves and to live the life that expresses God’s love for the world. Don’t settle for second best and keep working and living like Christ did nothing. Take a hold of His finished work and, along with the angels, let’s sing “Hosanna in the highest”.

God bless

Pastor Mark Bohr

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