Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Reflection:   One of the things Paul is so good at is giving a simple summary of the Gospel, and then giving us texture for our response to it! He doesn’t complicate things. You can see why he is such an effective teacher, because he is able to translate the message for the culture and the churches he planted. This helps them to stay on solid theological ground, and keep their focus on what God has done for them in Christ.   Today we hear the Good News that, “If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; the old has gone and the new is here!”   And notice it says, “ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”   Notice who is doing the work here.   “In Christ”, we are a new creation! God has reconciled us, and given us the ministry of reconciliation.   Then he uses this fantastic word, “ambassadors”.   What does an ambassador do?   He represents his country and brings...

Reflection:   Someone once said, “There is a hole in our soul that only God can fill”.   Today’s reading in 2 Corinthians reflects this when it says:  5  For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3  because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Paul uses the metaphor of a tent to signify our earthly home. Since I am not very fond of tents and the whole camping thing, I can relate to the “groaning” he talks...

Reflection:   Paul uses the metaphor of a “jar of clay” to illustrate how God uses us to display the treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all to see. One writer has said this, "Fragile human beings who handle difficulty so differently that people are attracted to them."   Despite many sermons that talk about how people used jars of clay to hide valuable he goes on to inform us that: “ Those in palaces did not use clay jars for their valuables. Oh, you would have found them in the kitchen and the outhouse. For everything but the most ordinary functions, they used gold, silver, other metals, and well cured ceramics. Expensive liquids were not put into clay jars; they were stored in expensive, sturdy containers. In fact, it would be easy to be as impressed with the container as it was with the contents inside. "What an impressive pitcher you have," you might have said as the hostess poured your drink. Those were not ordinary clay pots presented to Jesus...