Dear Crosswalkers,
There is a lot going on in the world and at Crosswalk Church. In the world we had the Royal Wedding, this was inspiring with its great traditions and clear Christian content.
More importantly, the execution of Osama bin Laden was big news, with the resultant celebrations by some and sober reflection by others. Personally, I was heartened by some level of justice being realized on planet earth, even though we know that true justice will come only from God in eternity.
In this regard, one of the best books I’ve read this year is a new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer entitled: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile Vs. The Third Reich. He is one of the great heroes of the faith. With remarkable discernment, Pastor Bonhoeffer, an ardent German national, saw the unbridled evil in Hitler and how that evil would ruin his country and perhaps the world. This is a story of his great moral courage, which was informed by an uncompromising commitment to the Bible and a heartfelt devotion to Jesus. The story of Bonhoeffer’s academic triumphs, his church experiences in America, his pastoral love and concern for people, as well as his courageous role as a double-agent in the plot to assassinate Hitler all makes for compelling reading. For his efforts, he was captured and hanged in the Flossenberg concentration camp at age 39, just a couple weeks before Hitler committed suicide and the Allies claimed victory.
I highly recommend this book, as well as one of the books written by Bonhoeffer that changed my life. It’s called The Cost of Discipleship, and here are a couple of pertinent quotes:
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."
"Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God."
May you live in the grace Jesus has for you!
Blessings,
Pastor John
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