1-20-2025

Good Morning All,

     Acts 1:1; “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,”

    Are you a starter?  Do you have a lot of projects started?  Do you like to start projects and then get someone else to finish them?  It is kind of interesting that some of the world’s greatest masterpieces are unfinished.  Franz Shubert has the “Unfinished Symphony;” Charles Dickens has “The Mystery of Edwin Drood;” these are just two of unfinished projects.  Of course, these projects went uncompleted by accident not by design.  Our verse speaks of a project that is unfinished by design.

    The Book of Acts is the second book of the bible that speaks of Jesus beginning.  The Book of Mark starts with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Now Acts starts with “with all that Jesus began to do and teach.”  Both speak of Jesus beginning his ministry.  We see where Jesus is starting but we never see where He finishes it.  As you look through the Bible, you never see or read of Jesus finishing his ministry.  He finishes the sacrifice on the cross “It is finished” yet in three days he rises again and keeps on ministering to his disciples.

     The Gospel of Jesus began and what Jesus began to do and to teach, yet neither of these ends.  We see a start, but we don’t see an end.  The Bible ends, doesn’t it?  Why doesn’t it tell us that the Gospel of Jesus and what he did and taught ever got finished?  It almost sounds like it isn’t finished.  That is because it isn’t.

    What Jesus began doing, he continues to do through the Church by the Holy Spirit.  The message of the Bible isn’t some past event or ancient history; it is the start of your life story, and it is the start of my life story.  It is in the Bible where God tells us of his love for us; it is where God shows us his love for us by the offering up of his son.  The Bible is where God brings us into His story, the story of restoring, reclaiming, and redeeming his creation, of reclaiming you and me.  The message of the Bible is today, and it is tomorrow.  It is God’s life refreshing message of hope and salvation.  It is God telling you that you matter; you are his redeemed child.  Jesus began this ministry and won’t finish it until he returns again. 

      This means that we, as Christians, live in a state of “already but not yet.”  We are already saved; our name is already in the Book of life, but we aren’t there yet.  Jesus has begun this good work in you and will see it completed in his day and time.  Our life with him has just started and our time to serve with him has just started.  It has only begun.  The old has passed away and the new is here just not all of it.  We live in the time of grace.  We live in the time of God’s grace not yet perfected, not yet completed.  We are given the time and the task of continuing the ministry of Jesus until he returns.  Jesus has begun this work, continues it through us until He finishes it when He returns.  God’s story of salvation continues through you and through me.  It is our hope and our salvation.

Dear Father, you choose to wait for the completion of Jesus’ ministry.  Move us to use this time to bring others into your kingdom.  Let them see in us the wonders of your love and grace.  Keep us strong by living in the message of hope that you give us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.     

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret