Freed Speech!

Pastor Richie shared a wonderful “if-then” statement this past Sunday (paraphrased here):

If we are being the light with no duplicity, then we don’t have to speak; God speaks through us.

It is a wonderful thing when we are freed from the sense of personal obligation to “look good” or “sound good” based on our own assessments. If we will simply seek to be good, if we will joyfully embrace and embody the goodness of God, then His Spirit will guide our speech and actions.

“We don’t have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all that we do. He makes us worthy to be servants of His new agreement, this new covenant that comes from the Holy Spirit and not from the written law. After all, the law brings death, but the Spirit brings life.” (Second Corinthians 3:5-6)

Lord, we are interested in Your agenda for the Bronx and the world: help us to keep our agendas out of Your way. May Your glorious light always shine, obliterating our darkness.

Under Weight.

 In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie shared with us some points concerning our role/responsibility as carriers of the glory of God:

• We live in a society where people are perishing; our opportunity/obligation is to serve the people of the world, so that they might be saved from the jaws of spiritual death.
• We have an enemy who has blinded people from seeing the glory of God; our assignment/aspiration is to live as consistent reflections of God’s glory, so that the eyes of man might be opened to His lovingkindness.
• We have a ministry to house and illuminate the treasure of God; our privilege/prerogative is to show the world that, in spite of our personal weaknesses, it is possible to walk in the strength and power of the living God.

“God has been kind enough to trust us with this work. That is why we never give up.” (Second Corinthians 4:1)

Lord God, thank You for allowing us to serve as co-laborers with Christ. We will gladly bear the burden of Your glory on us and in us, so that people might be drawn to Your goodness and grace.

Emergency "See" Section.

Between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, I spent about nine hours in the emergency room at a local hospital here in the Bronx.


Left brain: If it's so cool outside, why is my coat open?
Right brain: I'm too warm. By the way, I'm a little off-balance, so I also need to straighten up before I fall down.
Left brain: No! My legs are straight. I'm walking normally, this is how I walk. If I change position I'll fall down.
Right brain: No! That's incorrect. I feel like I'm going to fall... or pass out... Legs and feet, stop walking-- let me just lean on the building here and get my bearings.
Left brain: Hands, button my coat. It's cold. Something's not right here.
Right brain: Something's not right here.
Holy Spirit: Genise, go to the hospital now. I'll go with you.


So He and I went to the hospital, and my husband joined us there. Every test came back negative: the machines said that nothing was wrong with me. But the Holy Spirit spoke through the medical staff and through my dear husband. I was dehydrated. I was stressed out. I was overextended mentally and physically. I was sleep deprived. And, even though my vital signs were well within the bands of normalcy, the Lord was sending a message: The machines say you can go; but I say to you, Stop. Rest. Replenish.

Sometimes things look okay when they are not... and sometimes things look bad, but they are not so bad after all. Pastor Richie shared with us the wonderful verses that speak to our state as believers in a fallen world:

God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts. He gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, but we have this treasure in jars of clay. He has done this so that the excellency of the power will be seen and known as God's power, not ours. We are troubled on every side, yet we are not distressed. We are perplexed, but we are not in despair. We are persecuted, but we are not forsaken. We are cast down, but we are not destroyed. In our bodies, we continually carry the dying of our Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will also be made a reality in our bodies. (Second Corinthians 4:6-10)

The Lord is sending a message: The machine of the world says you are in trouble; but I say to you, Peace and Victory. Live in this fallen world through My overcoming power. Let My light shine through you regardless of the hardships that come your way.

A trip to the eye doctor on Wednesday afternoon revealed that my forty-six-year-old eyes have changed quite a bit, and my feelings of being off-balance are partly due to my eyeglasses. The lenses, once "perfect", are now too strong a prescription for the current state of my sight. I am seeing in a new way.

Hallelujah! As children of God, we get to grow up in Him. And, as we get older in the faith, the Lord reveals new perspectives to us. The crucifixion of Jesus might have looked like the end of a movement, but it was actually the key to our freedom and the means by which the Church would be established. The loss of job or loved ones may look like the end of all joys, but the Lord has the power! He can make such events the turning points in our lives that draw us to His side, making us more effective witnesses and agents for His glory to shine in the world.

Lord God, give us new lenses. Cause us to see things Your way.

"Mas" Instruction.

A few years ago, I happened to walk in to a Spanish-language service at Bronx Bethany. The guest speaker spoke no English. And I, who speak very little Spanish, was listening to her pray with no clue as to what she might be saying... but then, she said something that I understood.

"Mas! Mas!" (More! More!)

More. It's a word that shows up every now and again in corporate worship. We sing something like, Lord, we want more of You, less of us, et cetera. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." God expects that His children will grow in ever-increasing glory, because growth is a normal part of spiritual development.

This past Sunday, Pastor Richie asked a challenging question. It is worth asking again.

When people watch us over a period of time, do they see that we are growing to look more and more like Jesus?

Somebody's Watching G.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Richie spoke on Second Corinthians chapters 3 and 4 (with supporting Scriptures from the books of Exodus and First Samuel).

During the sermon, our pastor made the point that the old covenant model is a fading model. The apostle Paul made reference to Moses's experience: the glory of God was seen in Moses's face, but it was not permanent. And, as the glory faded, Moses would cover his face so that the people would not be able to watch the glory disappear (see Second Corinthians 3:13).

Pastor Richie encouraged us to consider our own lives in light of Moses's experience. Spiritually speaking, what does Bronx Bethany's face look like? Do our lives consistently reflect the glory of our great God, or does His glory appear only intermittently?

Lord, as we speak Your word of life to a watching community, cause us to be accurate reflections of Your glory. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord and King. Amen.