Weekly Update – 21st June

 

Romans

Last week I had the opportunity to share at the 8am and 10:30am services my thoughts on Romans 5. Living in God’s Peace can be both objective and subjective. Objective, because God’s legal proof, that we can live in His Peace was made in a binding covenant signed in blood, Christ’s blood, 2000 years ago on the cross. The matter has been settled; we are invited to have our relationship with God restored. Subjectivity differs from person to person, but I couldn’t find a better example than Andrew Ollerton gave when he finished his PhD and was waiting to find out whether or not he had passed.

The chief examiner at the start of the session, thrust out his hand and congratulated him on passing,

“…before answering a single question, I was ‘Dr Ollerton.”[1]

Andrew said he experienced a deep sense of peace. The board went on to discuss the ways he could improve his work. And so, it is for us also. Well done. We are righteous in God’s sight and deeply loved by him. Of course, there is still much to improve. But we start the Christian life secure in the love of God.

Living in God’s peace can at times be better, but we have scriptures in the word of God that we can read and quote when times are simply too difficult.

Romans 6 explores “How to live in the freedom of Christ”.

Please understand, that we are all transformed and in the same breath there will be times for each one of us, that we will be frustrated. It’s important that as we recognise that in every frustration we go through, once out the other side, we have learnt, become stronger in being able to live in freedom. Andrew Ollerton briefly talks about the life of a former gangster, now a reformed pastor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8qCrP79xVE       Mick Flemming and Tony[2] are like many of us today. At times we may feel like we are holding onto Christ through prison bars or the tips of our fingers. Yet other times our Christian walk is as easy as basking in the sunshine of both sunrise and sunset. 2 Corinthians 3.17 tells us, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” even when it doesn’t feel like it, calling things as we desire to see them, not as they are, is often the struggle we face.

Whether we struggle with sin, doing things we know are not pleasing to God, or struggle to do things that are pleasing to God; to live a transformed life, Paul reminds us in Romans 6, who we are and whose we are. When Christ was crucified, dead and buried, so were our sins, our sinful nature, or struggles with doing things that really don’t build us or anyone up. Equally, being alive in Christ, is being a brand-new person, one that now strives to spend time with the Lord, through conversations that bless others, leaving others feeling they are valued and loved as human beings, walking with a spring and sense of peace in your steps. Rise every morning, be alive in Christ, read a psalm perhaps the same one for a week. Phone someone and check in on how they are. Send someone a picture message or comment on a Tik Tok or insta post in a positive way. You will feel good and so will the other person. Go about doing Christ’s business, simply be showing love one another. Trust me, you will feel and be a transformed person, living in the Lord’s Peace.

Rev Claude

[1] Romans, A letter that makes sense of life p.85 Ollerton

[2] Two individuals mentioned in Ollerton’s book p.105