This week’s memory verse: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” — John 14:6
Pray the week: Lord, help me to enter into new life in You through the narrow gate, to take up the harder path and so achieve paradise forever.
Who is at the head
of the line?
“And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.â€
The people of Israel believed themselves to be at the head of the line As long as a Jewish person kept the whole Law they were assured entry into the world to come. Others could only enter the world to come if they observed the seven laws that God gave to Noah – the Noahide commandments. However, Christians are excluded as idolaters because we accept the fact that Jesus is God. We cannot be in line for heaven.
Isaiah tells Israel something very important, in fact something shocking – the gentiles will be brought into the glory of God. In fact, some of these unclean people who do not even observe the Noahide commandments will be made priests of God. They will be in line too. Jesus fulfills Isaiah in telling those who thought they were in line that they may well have no place unless they enter through the narrow gate. God’s salvation in Jesus has destroyed preconceived notions. Something much greater is required for salvation.
No one will get into the line for heaven unless they strive to do so. Entering the narrow gate requires strength and a resolute attitude. I will live as Jesus lived. I will follow Him alone. What matters is where we are in our living. Jesus advises us to set aside preconceived notions as to who is righteous and saved. We need to see differently and to take up the challenge of living the life God has designed.
We tend to still live with preconceived notions. Some of our notions have few consequences while others impact our eternal well-being. Some may think that they can earn their way to heaven (by keeping the old Law or by checking things off a holy to-do list). Some think there is no hell or eternal punishment and everyone is going to heaven (common sense – why bother believing in Jesus, belonging to His family, or coming to church if it doesn’t matter). It isn’t that easy. There are consequences for unbelief and for refusing Christ. There is a negative result for walking past the narrow gate.
Jesus broke down every preconceived notion of God and showed us the reality of His loving Father. He challenges us to leave behind self-assuredness. He asks us to take the road that leads to the line. To get there means to live as Jesus did, not as we wish and to take Jesus very seriously. We are to be deeply concerned – not about who is in line but whether we are assuming or striving through the harder gate.
This week’s memory verse: But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. — Acts 20:24
Pray the week: Lord, grant me the gift of perseverance. Help me to keep my eyes on You, not to look back, not to quit.
Run, compete, and
do not quit.
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
One thing you learn in Olympic competitions is that you never look back or across at you opponent during a race. You don’t do it on the track or in the pool. Doing so slows you down, it takes those few milliseconds off your timing and you end up losing.
In the world of sports, particularly like Olympic wrestling, if you are in great pain or can’t take it any more you can tap out. When someone taps out, they are surrendering to their opponent. They are throwing in the towel, they are giving up, and they are quitting the fight. They are saying you win, its over, I’m done, it’s finished.
These competitions are nothing compared to the battle Jesus waged on a daily basis. The writer of Hebrews tells us that if we are struggling and thinking about throwing in the towel, look at Jesus as the greatest example of someone who didn’t quit when the battle was hot, and his foes multiplied.
When we are faced with struggles we need to realize that throughout Scripture we see examples of people who tapped out. Adam and Eve had only one chance at tapping out to temptation – and they took that road. Noah did it with alcohol. Abraham did it out of fear. David did it when he gave into lust. Judas decided money was more important than God. Peter thought denial was the better choice. The crowd found Jesus’ word too hard and quit.
All though history and in our lives we tap out. The record of humanity is a horrible record of failure and tapping out.
But that isn’t the only the thing the Bible, or history, or our lives tell us. From Adam and Eve forward, right alongside every tap out and failure, God gave us His promise: Help is on the way. That promise of help was fulfilled in Jesus. Know that even before trouble comes, help is already worked out.
The thing about Jesus is His humanity. We can really be like Him. We can live as He lived. Look at all He faced and He didn’t tap out. The writer of Hebrews tells us He didn’t tap out even in taking up His cross.
Those who believe in Jesus, who follow Him – His saints too – the great cloud of witnesses figured that out. They too, once they found Him, refused to tap out. It is because of the joy we have – the great promise – that we must run without looking back and wrestle without tapping out.
Now is the time – join us on Back to Church Sunday, September 18th. Services at 9:30am and 11:30am. Welcome back breakfast at 10:30am.
Schenectady County Community College – current job opportunities
Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority – Maintenance Mechanic
The Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority has an opening for a dependable, hardworking person with an excellent performance and attendance record to be responsible for maintenance and repair for specified sites/buildings and upkeep of grounds.
40 hour work week @ $21.56/hour
The job responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Performs skilled repair and maintenance plumbing, carpentry and electrical tasks for buildings, apartments and equipment/small engines; Performs other tasks, such as masonry, roofing and locksmithing; Replaces/repairs wood and tile flooring, walkways and steps; Performs grounds keeping functions, such as mowing, weed cutting, snow removal and grounds cleanup; Replaces/repairs windows, doors, railings and ceilings; Unclogs sewers; Assists in apartment clean outs; Performs minor repairs on appliances and boilers; Handles on-call assignments after hours to perform repairs and other emergency maintenance functions; Uses a variety of manual and power tools.
Requirements: High school diploma or equivalent with at least 2 years’ experience in large scale building maintenance work. Must possess a valid driver’s license and clean driving history. Candidate must take the required Civil Service test when offered and score in the Top 3 in order to retain the position. Qualified applicants should submit a résumé by August 30, 2016 to:
SMHA
Att: Human Resources
375 Broadway
Schenectady, NY 12305You may also fax your resume to 518-372-0812 or E-mail it.
Schenectady Community Action Program – Community Resource Navigator/Outreach Specialist.
Duties: Conduct comprehensive, efficient, and sensitive intake and assessment to customers, triage crisis needs and act as an advocate for customers with community based agencies, government agencies and others, modeling appropriate communication methods and successfully assist customers to obtain benefits and assistance to ameliorate the crisis. Conduct timely, efficient and active internal and external referral processes to alleviate crisis. Follow up timely on all referrals and document outcomes, determining appropriate next steps and appropriateness of referred services. Provide short term case management and ensure support so customer’s crisis is ameliorated for a minimum of 90 days. Refer customer to long term case management, utilizing in-house resources first. Timely documentation of outcomes.
Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services or related field with a minimum of 2 years of additional experience in the direct field of crisis intervention. Master’s Degree preferred. Knowledge of community based services, public assistance and other community resources and demonstrated skills in accessing these services appropriately. Must have the ability to learn quickly the resources available in Schenectady County, and be able to appropriately refer in-house working with other program support staff to ensure full access to SCAP’s services. Two (2) years’ experience providing related services to families and individuals. Sensitive to the needs of low-income and minority populations. Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.
United States – State Department – Diplomacy Fellows Program
The State Department is currently accepting applications for the 2016 Diplomacy Fellows Program. Visit USAJOBS.gov to read the vacancy announcement and to start the online application process. Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is August 31, 2016.
For more job opportunities look at those listed in our sidebar —–>
This week’s memory verse: But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31
Pray the week: Lord, your judgment is just and righteous. Grant that I may be prepared for Your return, expectant and faithful.
Prepare, expect and
live it out.
And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.â€
In an Ameritrades commercial a lazy husband is on the coach as his wife tells him to do one thing that day – establish an online investment account. He says, “Sure.†Then goes back to watching television. Finally he falls asleep only to wake up as his wife is pulling into the driveway. He jumps to his feet, rushes to the computer and opens an account in seconds. He jumps back on the coach as his wife walks in and asks: ‘Did you set up the account?’ His reply, ‘Of Course.’
It may be possible to wait till the last possible moment to establish an Ameritrades account, but there are some things that are far too important to take a chance on. It is like our athletes in Rio. To be ready to compete they had to train – years of training and lesser competitions just for this moment. They took no chances. So too for our relationship to God, we cannot wait and just take a chance on being ready. We must prepare ourselves and be ready for the moment – whether it be His calling us home or His glorious return. Would the loss of heaven be worth the risk of ignoring preparation?
Jesus spoke often of his return. There are over 260 chapters in the New Testament, and Christ return is mentioned at least 318 times.
In today’s gospel we find the first extended teaching on the Second Coming of Jesus and here He warns us to be ready. To prepare! Today we hear about three distinct characteristics of a “good waiter.†For us, waiting must not be a static state but a time of preparation, expectation, and faithfulness.
The first characteristic of a “good waiter†is preparation. As our athletes prepare not just their bodies but their equipment as well, we are reminded to “be dressed and ready.†Jesus’ servants are those who do not give in to the fatigue or frustration of waiting. Rather we are to keep ourselves joyfully ready no matter how long it takes.
The second characteristic of a “good waiter†is expectancy. No matter the time, Jesus’ servants have not given up on His return; have not said that it is so long that He’ll never come. The time of the Lord’s return is not our major concern. What is important is that we remain alert, expectant, and that we do not grow lazy in living our witness.
The third characteristic of a “good waiter†is faithfulness. The faithful one who stood ready is rewarded. The one who is not faithful is fearfully punished – that is Jesus promise. Too often we lose sight of that, as if heaven is a given no matter what. As with our athletes, the unprepared, the unfaithful, the one that doesn’t walk the walk will be really disappointed. Today is the day of salvation. It is the day for us to start living by preparing (prayer, worship, Scripture), expecting, and faithfully walking with Jesus.
This week’s memory verse: Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. — Psalm 119:37
Pray the week: Lord, Grant that I may keep my focus on You. May Your kingdom be my priority and Your way my wealth.
What’s important
to us?
Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.
Paul is advising the Colossians to be single-minded and to concentrate on the great gift they had received; something we all need to hear. We belong to Jesus. He is our treasure. He is greater than anything we could possibly acquire. We belong to heaven and Jesus deserves our total attention. Yet we get so distracted. That is what happened to the man who came to Jesus. The man wanted Jesus to resolve a family dispute over inheritance.
The man was not asking for advice. He wanted Jesus to stand on his side and “tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” He wanted Jesus to get the money for him, but Jesus saw the true problem in his heart – it was his focus. The man made money his priority even though he was standing in the presence of God. He could have asked any question, he could have asked for anything – healing, life, understanding, and a heart for God.
Jesus uses the opportunity to teach about priorities and the danger of misplaced priorities; of losing focus.
Look at Jesus’ story of distraction. The farmer is a happy man – a rich man – with a great harvest. He likely felt blessed by God. He so enjoyed being successful and rich. Suddenly he is looking forward to more – “And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”
In his happiness he lost focus. He allowed the good he received to consume him. The blessings now became the priority and he forgot the source of the blessing. Bigger barns and enjoying blessings were his “soul” goal.
For the farmer everything was fine and good until he is confronted by the reality of God’s dominion and his misplaced priorities. God takes account of our priorities and focus. “God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.’”
God reset the farmer’s perspective. In his misdirected focus the farmer only made plans for this life but not for what is to come. God was in his life but he ignored Him.
These moments, this scripture, is an opportunity for us. We can rejoice in the blessings we have but must keep our eye on their source. Jesus wants us to see things in the right perspective. He gives us eternal riches that must always be accounted for and tended to first. God wants us to enjoy life with Him as our most important priority.