CP 301 A dozen or so of Paul's outrageous conclusions

(A dozen or so of) Paul’s outrageous conclusions This selection of verses from Paul’s letters to various churches might just help you appreciate how remarkable it is that the Lord God Almighty opened your eyes and heart to the Good News revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. It might even lead you into a deeper repentance, along with praise and thanksgiving. What a gift is Holy Spirit-given faith and trust in Christ Jesus, our Saviour and Lord. May his name flow from your lips with joy! Fred the Rev, October 2026 • Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’ Galatians 3:10-13 Outrageous because: Can you even begin to imagine what a good and righteous Pharisee might make of this statement? The Messiah became a curse? • For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 RSV Outrageous because: Not that he bore our sin, although that is true. No, the innocent Messiah actually embodied all sin... He became it! • Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed; it does not say, ‘And to seeds’, meaning many people, but ‘’and to your seed’, meaning one person, who is Christ. Galatians 3:16 Outrageous because: Every Jew knew that Abraham’s ‘seed’ was Jacob through Isaac! • For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. 2 Corinthians 1:20 Outrageous because: The entire OT finds full expression in this One? • My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Outrageous because: This One, and this One alone, fulfils the remarkable promise of Isaiah 33:6? The mind can hardly comprehend this. • God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 Outrageous because: Paul wrote, ‘Have been saved!’ Done and dusted! Not will be, might be, could be, or should be. And all done for us. By the grace of Christ’s sinless life and freely offered death, the Father can, and has, brought us home! • For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 RSV Outrageous because: We become the righteousness? Impossible? True in Christ. Compare Deuteronomy 6:25 • There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 Outrageous because: We’ve become the righteousness... we are beyond the accusations, judgements and condemnations of the Law? Truly? The reality of grace! • (All the best of my heritage I cherished as an Israelite) I consider loss for the sake of Christ... I consider them rubbish (‘skubala’ Greek, is excrement!) that I may gain Christ... Philippians 3:8 Outrageous because: Excrement? All of that heritage is excrement? Yes, in so far as it was utterly useless in attaining the righteousness which can only be found in Christ. • And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus... Ephesians 2:6 Outrageous because: Not only beyond condemnation. Right now? At the Father’s right hand? Above the angels? Unbelievable, except that it’s clear written in the scripture. Three of Paul’s scathing self-assessments • I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh... Romans 7:18 Outrageous because: Without Christ he is nothing and has nothing that might count towards righteousness. Without Christ he is bankrupt. And you? And me? • Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15 Outrageous because: Devoid of any conviction of his own personal worthiness. Humbling. • After Jesus the Messiah was raised from death... last of all, he appeared to me also, as one untimely born. Outrageous because: The Greek word for ‘untimely-born’ is ektromati, which is a naturally aborted or miscarried foetus! In other words, God couldn’t have picked a more unlikely person... dead, beyond use. One aggravated statement concerning those who undermined his ministry by insisting that circumcision was still required by Christians • As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! Galatians 5:12 Outrageous because: Needs no explanation...

CrossPurposes 300 An invoice for your life...

CP 300 An invoice for my life Many of you who are around my age – 75 - will remember the magic of Disney comics like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Donald had three nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, who were members of the Junior Woodchucks, a precursor to the Boy Scouts of America. I mention the woodchucks because I recently came across a strange, sad story about the man mostly responsible for starting the junior Woodchuck movement in North America. Ernest Thompson Seton was born in 1860 in England to Scottish parents named Thompson. His family emigrated to Canada, near the city of Toronto. From a very young age he spent much of his spare time in the woods near his home. Out there in the woods he became a self-taught naturalist as he observed, studied and drew all the animal bird and plant life around him. He eventually became a renowned artist and an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. What only a few people knew was that what pushed him into the woods from such a young age was that he needed a safe place where he could avoid his angry and abusive father. Get this: On his 21st birthday, Seton’s father presented him with an invoice for every single financial expense incurred during his entire childhood and youth, including the fee charged by the doctor who delivered him! My mind can hardly take that in. Your father presents you with a bill for every dollar he ever spent on raising you? In his autobiography, Seton wrote about the incident in detail. At the time he had no money to his name so he could not pay his father. He immediately got a job and used the money he made to leave the household forever. He never spoke to his father again. Can you even imagine handing each of your children a bill for all costs associated with their childhood? Yes, I know all of us might admit there is something human about the inclination to remind people how much they are indebted to us, especially if they seem ungrateful. But present your child with an invoice for every penny spent? More shocking than surprising and totally sad. How about the Lord God Almighty? What would it be like to be held to account for every ‘debt’ I might have with him! I can’t tell you how grateful I am that my heavenly Father didn’t and doesn’t take that approach, even though he was and is justly entitled to. O yes, I acknowledge I had and have impossible debts with him. But right here we can see what the coming of Immanuel is all about. He came to position himself between the Father in heaven and the mass and mess of humanity. Through his life, he personally picks up the invoice for all our debts, and clutches it to himself even as he is keeping that appointment on Calvary Hill. Almost the last word he speaks before he dies tell us the meaning of Christmas. Tetelestai! In the Greek language of the day, these are the very words a merchant would stamp on a bill that has been settled. Paid in Full! Tetelestai! It is finished. Your account has been cleared. Give thanks, with grateful heart, that he enables us to own that truth in our hearts and with our lips. Fred

CP 299 Right - and wrong - accidental words

CP 299 Accidental right – or wrong – words Sometimes a different word comes out of your mouth, or off your lips, than what you meant to say. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it’s not. A very simple example happened to me about 15 years ago when I sent all of you an email with the latest CrossPurposes and addressed you as Dear FIENDS! That was an accidental misspelling. I had another beauty a couple of weeks ago while I was doing the committal at a funeral service for a much loved 95 year old woman. I got to the point where the Pastor says, ‘Therefore we commit her body to be…’ Now I would have sworn that I used the words to be cremated. However, my darling wife, who is so used to me that I believe she expects me to stumble, declares to one and all that what I actually said was, …to be CREATED! In the context of faith that’s not a bad mistake on my part, don’t you think? Having shared that, I thought I’d remind you of a story I wrote about in my ‘It Happens – Grace Surprises’ book from 2007. I happened on a November Confirmation Sunday in 1986. With all eleven young people making ready to publicly declare their faith, the place was packed to the rafters. All the eleven children to be confirmed were sitting in a row across the front of the church. As usual I got all the children present that day to come forward for the kids’ talk. I asked them if they could tell me what was different about the church today. Answers came: There’s lots of people, the flowers are bigger and better, the colours of the altar cloths have changed from green to red, there are different banners on the wall, and more in that vein. My second question was, “Well, what’s happening here today?” Young Werner, whose two older brother were among those confirming their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord that day, immediately shot up his hand. “Yes, Werner?” I asked. “Ah… ah… ah… ah… ah… ah ...” I guess you know what it’s like. Werner’s “ahs” went on, and on, and on, and on. I did everything I could to encourage him. “Yes?” It didn’t help. “Ah… ah… ah… ah…” The congregation became utterly still, straining to hear what Werner might answer. Eventually the ah … ah… changed to, “These people behind us ah… ah… ah… ah… are going to get ah… ah… ah… CRUCIFIED!” The congregation roared… and paid no more attention. Me? Totally thrown by such an unexpected answer. The moment was lost and all I could do was wrap it up faster than you could say boo. It was only later, perhaps a year or so later, and after some reflection, that I realised my young friend had spoken God’s own truth that day! Pure inspiring theology. Jesus did say, “Unless you take up your cross and follow me you cannot be my disciple.”

CP 298 The work of our Police Forces as ‘Daily Bread”. On March 21 this year in Chicago, 5 plainclothes police officers in an unmarked car stopped a vehicle being driven by a black man, Dexter Reed. According to Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability the reason was “purportedly for a seatbelt violation." The officers, who did not identify themselves, pointed their guns at Reed and fired 83 times in roughly 27 seconds. Reed then “exited the vehicle, unarmed, with hands empty and raised." Four of the officers then fired another 13 additional bullets at him as he lay face down and motionless on the street, including 3 times in the back. That's 96 shots in 41 seconds. It took two weeks before the Civilian Office released body-camera footage of the incident, alleging that Reed appeared to fire first at the officers. Witnesses dispute that allegation. Dexter Reed's mother? 'They shot him down like he was an animal... They executed him!' Three weeks later, on Saturday April 13, a 40 year old man with serious mental health issues, entered Westfield Plaza at Bondi Junction in Sydney. Wielding a large knife, Joel Cauchi stabbed 14 people, mostly women, six of whom subsequently died. His deadly rampage was ended by Police Inspector Amy Scott who fired one shot! Immediately after she shot the attacker, she began applying CPR! The family of Mr Cauchi? In a statement released through Queensland Police they said they had "no issues" with Insp Scott as "she was only doing her job to protect others, and we hope she is coping alright". Our reactions? No doubt there are stories within stories here. Police forces are often in the news for good, and not good, reasons. The difference between the two situations described above, and the police responses, is so stark I can hardly comprehend it. However, you may be surprised that one on my strongest internal reactions has been to think of the petition in the Lord’s Prayer concerning Daily Bread. Here is our catechism explanation of Daily Bread What is meant by daily bread? ‘Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbours, and the like.’ (Martin Luther) My point? We can count ourselves truly blessed when the Police Forces in our lives exercise their authority with diligence and integrity, and thereby establish the community security and protection we all need from day to day. Honest and strong policing is daily bread for us and we can receive it with thanks. Not always so We need not pretend that what I have outlined is everybody’s normal experience. We wish. Sin abounds. Wherever there is ‘power’ there is and will be sin. Our history in this country is replete with shameful episodes and multiple failures. But as the actions of Inspector Amy Scott at Bondi Junction remind us, the police do do good things. That’s all the more reason to think of honest and effective policing when we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Be blessed in Him, our Lord Jesus Christ. Fred