I went to "the Bridge" last night. It is a service down in the city for ex-offenders and those trapped in the street lifestyle. During the worship period we sang "Nothing But The Blood." I grew up on this hymn, but last night the 4th verse touch me as if I had never heard it before.
This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
It is comforting to know in a crowd of ex-offenders I have no righteousness, no hope, and no peace that is different than theirs. My pardon is found only in that cleansing blood. It was a good night and a good worship. If you live in Chicagoland, and you want to be a part of a ministry that is truly to the least of these check out the Mission USA website and visit the Bridge.
3 comments:
Kevin, No one should argue anything other than "the blood." But then again we encounter the question of how we come in contact with the blood. I stirred up a hornet's nest in our Sunday morning bible class when I suggested that Billy Grahm was paralyzed in his effectiveness for Christ because he refused to acknowledge the need for water immersion baptism. I can see Jesus' compassion and healing working in a mission like this one, but when I went to their web page and read that baptism is merely an outward sign of submission and that once you become part of God's family you can not loose your inheritance my conservative bible beliefs question the presence of the true spirit in their work. Am I just so steeped in my interpretation that I am blinded to the Spirit's presence in works that do not exactly coincide with my beliefs? Help clear my vision.
I am going to reply to this to you in private. It will take some time since I just want to insure I choose my words correctly. Although I trust you completely as a friend, I want to trust you are not misreading what I am saying. These are treacherous matters
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