Thursday, May 14, 2020

May 14 – Thursday prior to Easter 6




Solus Christus - Through Christ alone

There is no other mediator – The latest spiritual craze will be yesterday’s news! Of course, not until after they endorse your check for all the stuff you bought at the last well hyped, over-rated event someone promoted.

Today we focus on the centrality of Christ. In other words, at the center of all that we do is Jesus! Our focus is on Christ and Christ alone.

God has given the ultimate revelation of himself to us by sending Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15. Only through God’s gracious self-revelation in Jesus do we come to a saving and transforming knowledge of God. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.-1 Timothy 1:5.

Because God is holy and all humans are sinful and sinners, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- 1 John 1:1;

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” -Hebrews 7:25; 

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” - Romans 8:34.

Neither religious rituals nor good works mediate between God and us. ”And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:12 by which a person can be saved other than the name of Jesus. 

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,” -Hebrews 7:23. Only Jesus’ sacrificial death alone can atone for sin. Christ is the center of our faith. - SOLUS CHRISTUS we are redeemed by Christ alone!

Amidst the brokenness of our lives. Amidst the power structures and manipulation. The violence. Racism. The hurt. Comes the Christ.  Who breaks in. Who shares our flesh. Who carries our burdens. Who bears our sins. Who will suffer the scars of evil. Who exchanges our shame for His glory.

And calls us to be the very light of the world.-A light that is not ours but His.  Gifted to us. For us to undermine the darkness. Which cannot stand against it.

St. Paul would remind us,” So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” –Galatians 6:10

Luther’s Seal copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

________________

Did you know… that Time magazine once declared Henry Ford “the soybean’s best friend”? In the midst of the Great Depression when grain crops were failing, animal feeders discovered that livestock fed on an oil-rich soybean diet bulked up quickly. To Ford, it made perfect sense to subsidize research into the uses of farm products. Numerous auto parts were made from petroleum-based plastic, and of course, all of Ford’s engines ran on diesel and gasoline refined from petroleum crude. “If we want the farmer to be our customer,” he said, “we must find a way to be his customer.”

Ford authorized dramatically expanding the agricultural laboratory in Greenfield Village at Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. To encourage production, he made 400 Fordson tractors available for free use to Michigan farmers and offered gas and diesel at a penny per gallon – less than a quarter of what it cost at the pump. He bragged, “There is a bushel of soya beans in every Ford car,” in Fortune magazine.  Farmers put more than 35,000 acres of land into growing soybeans, and Ford bought their entire output as promised.

Ford even switched the company commissary over to baked goods made with soy flour and ice cream made with soy milk. In the spring of 1935, farmers planted soybeans in record numbers. In preparation for the coming harvest, Ford spent $5 million to construct his own soybean mill with solvent extraction at the Flagship River Rouge plant in Dearborn – and boasted that he had jumpstarted demand for soybeans nationwide.

That year roughly 70 million bushels would be harvested. In the absolute depths of the Great Depression, soybeans were hailed as a godsend. Cargill, which specialized in milling grains as feed for livestock producers eagerly built new soybean-producing plants, along the rivers and the Great Lakes from Minneapolis to Chicago, where the great stockyards were buying unprecedented quantities of soybean meal as animal feed.

 –Read this fascinating book, “This Blessed Earth” by Ted Genoways
 “A universal story of family farmers and all they’re up against.” – Willie Nelson


No comments: