Holy Spirit

Shrouded in Mystery

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27  KJV

One of the greatest religious mysteries of modern times is the story of the shroud of Turin. The shroud’s history is a bit uncertain though its present location in Turin Italy since 1578 is fairly well accepted. That the shroud carried the images which we know of today was not commonly known till the late 1800’s. There have been films, treatises and television reports made supporting various conclusions about the origins, authenticity and meaning of the shroud. One thing is clear however from the debate: no one’s mind will be easily changed about who Jesus truly is, simply by an historical artifact. Just before He went to the cross, Jesus rose from the Last Supper table and began to wash His disciples’ feet saying:

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:14 KJV

Yes Jesus did leave us a living artifact behind: and it wasn’t an article of clothing. He left us His spirit to live on the inside us, where it could never grow old, be destroyed or forgotten. Yes there is a great biblical mystery on display today.  But this mystery is not whether the face of Jesus can be seen in the shroud of Turin but rather that His face can be seen in us!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Till Journey’s End

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Our part is to wait by faith

His is to restore

To us is given to believe

In Christ the risen Lord

Our part is to hope each day

And His the Spirit send

Our part is to run the race

His to keep

Till journey’s end!

Acts 1:4 KJV …but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

Till Journey’s End by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2021 All rights reserved. Use by permission only

I Want My Lawyer!

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 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 ESV

What does Jesus mean when He says He doesn’t give us a peace like the world’s peace? Try thinking of a scene from whatever is your favorite crime show. There inevitably comes a climactic moment when  the bad guy is arrested. Then just as the good guys begin to question him he shouts, “I’m not saying anything until I have my lawyer!”

Lawyers are also our greatest hope when we are in trouble. If you look back at the previous verse you will see that Jesus is telling us that He will send us the Holy Spirit; as our advocate (Lawyer).  That is because you, I and everyone else who ever was born has been put under arrest and faces the death penalty because of sin. The only hope we have in the sentencing portion of our trial is to have a good lawyer. Jesus is promising us the best in the universe; if we will put our faith in Him.

So we walk into the courtroom with the Holy Spirit by our side. When the evidence is presented proving our guilt He tells the judge that the prosecution has entered into a plea bargain with the defense. We have agreed by faith to repent, confess our sin and put our faith in Jesus. In exchange the penalty we faced now will fall on: Jesus Christ The Holy Son of God. The judge listens carefully then before the hushed heavenly courtroom He brings down His gavel and says “Not Guilty!” Then He steps down from the bench, opens his arms and embraces us crying; “Welcome home child!”

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Now if that isn’t peace I don’t know what is. That is because our everlasting peace is a person not a feeling. What a gift we have been given. What a peace we have. It is a peace that the world cannot give and that no one can  take away!