Category: encouragement

Categories
encouragement theology

The Outcast

We have just seen the conversation between Son of God and one of the great teachers of his day (John 3:1-21).  Nicodemus was a highly respected teacher and one of the Jewish rulers in the Sanhedrin.  Nicodemus thought he knew a lot about God, and yet Jesus showed him that he needed to be born from above before he could even see God’s kingdom (see here).

The next scene is a complete contrast to Nicodemus. Jesus initiates a conversation with an outcast Samaritan woman, one who would be despised by any “respectable” Jew.  Nicodemus had initiated a secret meeting with Jesus for fear of reprisal from his own countrymen.  Jesus initiates this next meeting with an immoral “foreigner” woman with no fear of reprisal.

 Jesus’ message to Nicodemus was that the spiritual world is much greater than anything we can see or hear.  Jesus further explains the spiritual world to this sinful, Samaritan woman using water.

 The Samaritan woman would not have understood the Old Testament metaphor of water’s cleansing and new life [2].  But more importantly, Jesus is bringing her to the point of understanding eternal life.  The well water is temporary, but Jesus is offering something permanent.

Jesus then brings her to the next step, which is to show her that he knows about the details of her life. He knows all about her five failed marriages and that she is not married to her current man. Note that Jesus neither excuses nor corrects her current lifestyle. What is most important is that she needs eternal life.

 The woman’s response seems strange to our minds.  She almost seems to change the subject, asking about the place of worship.  But her core Samaritan beliefs had been shaken.  The Samaritans did not believe in any other prophet after Moses except for the Messiah [3].  Therefore, she has just acknowledged that this man must be be the Messiah.  And he is a Jew.  Therefore, what else about her Samaritan beliefs were wrong?

 The Samaritans believed that the the true source of worship was on Mount Gerizim (see here).  If the rest of her Samaritan beliefs were wrong, where was the correct place to worship?  More specifically, how can you come to God?

 How do you worship God?  Jesus says it twice here: You worship God in spirit and truth.

 You worship God in spirit.  This is not a reference to the Holy Spirit but in the human spirit, the part of us that communes with God.  As we draw close to God, our worship of God comes from the inside-out.  [4]

 You worship God in truth.  It is not enough to have great emotions, or to feel close to God.  Our worship of God is rooted in the truth of knowing who he is and in studying his Word.

The woman points out that truth will come from the Messiah.  Jesus unmistakably declares that he is the Messiah.

 It is this faith in Jesus that brings her to eternal life:

 “The conviction, sudden but firm, that He Who had laid open the past to her was really a Prophet, was already faith in Him; and so the goal had been attained – not, perhaps, faith in His Messiahship, about which she might have only very vague notions, but in Him. And faith in the Christ, not in anything about Him, but in Himself, has eternal life.” – Alfred Edersheim [3]

 

Previous post: What about people who are not like you?

Continue reading “The Outcast”
Categories
encouragement theology

What about people who are not like you?

The news is filled lately with reports of racial and political tension across the country.  Sadly, this tension has spilled out into violence, destroying people in its wake.

I had an opportunity to visit the Middle East earlier this year, during the time of the recent fighting in Gaza.  It does not take much to find conflict between different groups: Israeli vs. Palestinian, Muslim vs. Christian, Sunni vs. Shiite Muslim, etc.

Well-meaning preachers like to tell “what Jesus would do” in these situations.  But most often, their descriptions of Jesus look like themselves, and their view of Jesus is limited to advancing their own agendas.  Their descriptions of Jesus look a lot less like the Eternal Son of God, and a lot more like a noble person out to clean up the world.

But Jesus did (indirectly) show an example of dealing with people across racial, political, ethnic, and religious divisions.  I had a chance to study another bitter battle between two different groups this past week.

In 722 B.C., the Assyrian army conquered the kingdom of Israel and destroyed the capital city of Samaria (see 2 Kings 17:1-6). The Assyrians removed most of the Jewish inhabitants of the Samaria region and replaced them with foreigners.  These foreigners intermarried with the remaining Jews and also mingled their own religious practices with the native Jewish beliefs.

It was almost 200 years later, in 538 B.C., when Jews were allowed to return from exile and they began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The native people (known as Samaritans) offered to help rebuild the temple but were refused because of their mixed blood and mixed beliefs (see Ezra and Nehemiah).  Instead, the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim.

“On all public occasions the Samaritans took the part hostile to the Jews, while they seized every opportunity of injuring and insulting them.” [1]  During the Hasmonean revolts of the 2nd century B.C., the Samaritans supported the Syrian “oppressors” (The Samaritan temple was destroyed by Hasmoneans).

The Samaritans considered themselves descendants of Jacob but believed only the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy).  They did not respect the worship in Jerusalem but held to their own worship on Mt. Gerizim. [2]

By the time of Jesus, the Samaritans were bitterly hated by the Jews and were considered unclean by the devout Jews.  Many Jews would travel several miles out of their way to avoid going through Samaria and to avoid any contact with the Samaritans. The term “Samaritan” was also synonymous with “heretic” or “foreigner” (see Luke 17:16-18, John 8:48).

This is the history of the bitterness between the Samaritans and the Jews.  However, Jesus is most known in this section for ignoring the protocols and the problems between the two groups.  Jesus meets an immoral, outcast Samaritan woman and he has these simple messages for her:

Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 4:42).  Jesus is not for our world, not for the Jewish world, but the entire world.  Jesus came for the righteous, upstanding Nicodemus (John 3) just as much as he came for the immoral, outcast Samaritan woman (John 4). 

We will study the contents of these messages in a later post.

 

Previous Post: The Competition

Continue reading “What about people who are not like you?”
Categories
encouragement theology

The Educated Man

It is the Passover season in Jerusalem, 30 A.D. The province of Judea is led by a council of 70 elders, called The Sanhedrin.  This Council is sharply divided over the teacher who has come into town.  This man has claimed to be their promised Messiah, and then acted on these claims by throwing out the priests’ businesses from the temple courts.  The local priests and Sadducees are enraged, while the devout Pharisees in the council applaud this man for cleansing their temple from these corrupt practices.

 All of Jerusalem watches in amazement over the next few days as this man teaches and performs miracles.  His popularity grows daily as thousands come to hear him.  The council argues about what to do with him, yet they are unable to reach any conclusion.

But there are a few from the council who are different.  These few see more than an enemy, or a spectacular show.  This man must have come from from God.

One of these few was a leader of the Council, named Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the most devout keepers of the law. His Greek name shows that he was from a wealthy family and his title as a “ruler of the Jews” shows that he had wealth, power, and influence.  He is referred later as the “The teacher of Israel”, showing that he was famous as a teacher of the law [1].  In summary, Nicodemus was wealthy, educated, prominent, and very devout.  Yet Nicodemus was missing something very important.

Nicodemus comes to visit Jesus at night, probably to keep his meeting secret.  The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is recorded in John 3:1-21.

 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

 Nicodemus has seen Jesus’ signs and miracles and knows that he is from God.  But as we see in Jesus’ immediate response, that is not enough!

 

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 Nicodemus has accomplished a lot in life.  Nicodemus is a good man, but he is totally lost.

There is something much greater than your physical world.  The kingdom of God exists beyond what we can see, hear, or touch.  But unless you have a new life, you cannot even see this kingdom of God.  The term, “born again”, can be better translated as “born from above”.  You need to be given this new life from above.

“There was only one gate by which a man could pass into that kingdom of God – for that which was of the flesh could ever be only fleshly.” – Edersheim [2]

 

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

 Nicodemus does not understand.  Here is a man who has done everything possible in this physical world.  But it is not about the physical world — Jesus is showing Nicodemus that he needs something more.

 

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

 How can you be born from above?  You need more than a physical birth (“born of water”), but you also need a spiritual birth (“born of the Spirit”).  Your physical being (flesh) will never give you life in the Spirit.  (See the bottom of this post for a detailed discussion about “born of water”).

 

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 Nicodemus is sitting with Jesus in an upper room of the house.  The Springtime winds would be blowing through the the narrow streets of Jerusalem, and Jesus uses this example to explain the Holy Spirit.  Both “wind” and “Spirit” are translated from the same Greek word: pneuma. The work of the Spirit is invisible and mysterious just like the blowing of the wind.  You don’t see it and you don’t know where it comes from, but you know when it is there.

 

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

 Nicodemus still does not understand and Jesus replies with a rebuke.  Nicodemus is the premier teacher in Israel and he is having difficulty grasping the life in the Spirit.  The Old Testament scriptures teach that the Spirit of God will renew you (see Ezekiel 36:24-27).  Just like many of the other Jews of his day, Nicodemus did not understand this new life.

 

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

 This is why Nicodemus does not understand.  It is not a matter of intellect but unbelief.  Nicodemus does not understand because he does not believe.  Nicodemus is not ready to hear about heavenly things until he first believes what Jesus tells him about what is on earth.

The final sentence shows that only Jesus is eligible to talk about heaven.  No one is able to talk about heaven except for he who came from there.

 

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus uses Nicodemus’ role model as a further example.  As a Pharisee and a teacher of the law, Nicodemus deeply revered Moses and the law that he gave to Israel.  But the Israelites did not obey and God sent poisonous snakes to kill them (see Numbers 21:5-9).  When the people cried out to God, God instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and raise it up on a pole.  Anyone who looked at the bronze snake would live. 

Jesus uses the bronze serpent as an illustration of himself.  The bronze serpent represented God’s judgement. All a dying person needed to do was to look and be saved. Likewise, Jesus will be lifted up.  All a dying person needs to do is to believe in him and they will be saved.  Jesus will be lifted up when he is on a cross to to take God’s judgement for the entire world. 

We are all dying in this physical world (Hebrews 9:27-28).  Jesus has come to offer us a way to be saved from this world, and to be born a new life in the Spirit.

What does it mean to believe?  Believing in Jesus is much more than intellectual assent.  It is more than knowing the facts.  Believing in Jesus means that you realize that you are totally helpless and you trust him completely.

“If the uplifted serpent, as symbol, brought life to the believing look which was fixed upon the giving, pardoning love of God, then, in the truest sense, shall the uplifted Son of Man give true life to everyone that believes, looking up in him to the giving and forgiving love of God, which his Son came to bring, to declare, and to manifest.” – Edersheim [2]

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Why would God give us eternal life?  Because of his love for the world.

What did it cost God to give us eternal life?  It cost him the life of his only Son.

What do we need to do to gain eternal life?  We need to believe.

Nothing else.  Just believe.

 

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The world is already dying.  Jesus came into this dying world so that we might have life.  God does not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23,32) but he desires that everyone be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).

 

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

We don’t need to do anything to be judged because we are judged already.  We already are in this sinful, dying world and we need to be rescued in order to be saved from it.  Those who don’t look to Christ are like the dying Israelites who refused to look at the bronze serpent.

 

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

 Here is our final choice.  The contrast is between darkness and light.  When we think of evil people we think of murderers, thieves, etc.  But every one of us has done wicked things (compare Romans 3:23) and we are all in darkness.  We now have the choice: we can hold on to our sin or we can come to the light.

 

Previous post: The Corrupted Worship

Continue reading “The Educated Man”
Categories
encouragement theology Uncategorized

The Corrupted Worship

John 2:13-22

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.


Malachi 3:1-2

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

I am often reminded of a familiar picture of Jesus: he is wearing a spotless robe with a purple sash, looking sweetly and serenely into the distance.  These next events in John’s account show Jesus to be anything but sweet and serene. One of Jesus’ first public acts is to go into the temple and directly confront the corruption within the current religious system [2].  Jesus also fulfills the prophecy of Malachi 3:1, where the Messiah is promised to “suddenly come to his temple”.

 Passover was the greatest of the Jewish celebrations.  Jews from all over the world would congregate in Jerusalem in order to make a sacrifice in the temple at this time.

The temple was led by a ruthless group of priests at this time.  Led by Annas, the former high priest (and father-in-law to the current high priest), they had devised a system to make a massive profit off of the Passover pilgrims.  Most notably, their profit came in two ways:

  • All sacrifices must be certified as clean by the priests.  The priests would sit in the outer court of the temple and check each animal that was brought in for a sacrifice.  At this time, the priests would require the pilgrims to buy or trade their animals from only the local certified merchants.  The certified merchants would charge a huge markup, thus forcing the pilgrims to pay much more for what they already had.
  • All Jewish men were required by law to pay a temple tax.  This tax must be paid in the local currency and with exact change.  The traveling pilgrims would have a large variety of different currencies (both local and foreign) so the money changers would be available to convert to local currency and make change.  The abuse of this tax came in with the hume fees that the temple changers would charge in order to both convert currencies and to make change.

It is important to know that many of the local Jews hated the temple priests and they way they had corrupted their system of worship.  When Jesus cleansed the temple of these abuses, he gained instant popularity with the local Jews who also despised the corrupt priests in the temple.  While he had made enemies with the priestly leadership, his fame among the people would have protected him from any revenge from the priests for his actions. [1]

 In this brief scene, Jesus makes the statement twice that he is the Messiah.  First, he does the actions of the Messiah as predicted by Malachi.  He comes suddenly and purifies his temple.  This statement would not have been lost on his religious listeners, who knew the Old Testament prophets very well.  This was already a sign for the Jews yet they demanded more.

His second statement would only be understood by his disciples, and only much later.  Jesus promises that if they destroy this temple, he would raise it up on the third day.  The will try to destroy him, yet Jesus will triumph [1].  Even here at the start of his ministry, we see Jesus giving a message of hope that will only be received much later.

 

John 2:23-25

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

 The same original word Is used here for both “believe” and “entrust”. A better translation of this second sentence would read, “But Jesus on his part was not committing himself to them…”  Many people believed in Jesus when the saw his signs in Jerusalem. But Jesus knew that their beliefs were shallow and short-lived. Therefore he did not commit to them.

Jesus is reserving the core of his message to only those who believe.  This happened earlier in Cana (John 2:11), but it happens even more in this scene.  Jesus provides an invitation for all men, but he is looking for more than those with a passing fancy, or for those who are merely excited about what they have seen.  Jesus is looking for those who truly believe him and will completely trust him.

Previous Post: The Wedding Miracle

Continue reading “The Corrupted Worship”
Categories
encouragement theology

The Word

John will use several different descriptions of Jesus through the course of his gospel as he introduces us to different aspects of his character.  But he uses a very simple term, “The Word” (Greek: logos), to introduce us to him.  The significance of Logos is lost in our English world, but means far more than just “word”.  “Logos” conveys the entire message, both the said and unsaid.

To the Greeks in John’s day, the gods were distant.  The philosopher Plato said, “Maybe one day, a logos (a message or a word) will come from God who will reveal the mysteries and make things plain.” (*)

The Jews in John’s day had a clear understanding of God’s word.  The Old Testament contains many references to God’s power and presence expressed through his word.  For example:

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. (Psalms 33:6)

 

But John makes this more personal.  Not only does the Word (logos) signify the power and the presence of God, but it is also a person.  This man that John has come to know is more than a mere human!  To the Greeks, he is the one who will reveal the mysteries.  To the Jews, he is the power and the presence of God.  But he is more than a mere force — he became human and lived among us!

 

​ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
(John 1:1-5,9)

John starts out his gospel with an extended introduction to The Word (logos).  In many ways, this introduction is a summary of the entire gospel:

  • The Word is fully God (he was with God and he was God)
  • The Word has God’s attributes, including eternity (in the beginning), power (creation)
  • The Word is the source of all life
  • The Word is the source of all goodness.  He stands against evil and is greater than Evil (referenced by light vs. darkness) [1]
  • The Word is the true light.  The real thing!

 

But there are more personal notes about The Word:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
(John 1:6-8)

John the Baptist (not the author) is sent ahead as a witness of the Word.  John only lived to reflect the light back on Him. [2]

 

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
(John 1:9-13)

Sadly, The Word came to his own country, but his own people rejected him.  But therein is also the good news: he gives the right to be children of God to those who do receive him!

This is the core of our confusion about Jesus Christ.  The point here is very clear and very simple: Jesus — the very one who made the world — came into the world.  Yet the world did not know him.  His own people did not receive him.

But the good news is also here: he has given the right to be God’s children to those who did receive him!

This is a critical point: what does it mean to receive him? Jesus came with a message of who he is.  He also came with a call. When we receive him, we yield our allegiance to him.  It means that we believe who he is and have placed our faith in him. [3] This challenge is the same for us in the 21st century as it was for those who lived with Jesus in the 1st century.

 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(John 1:14,16-17)

John (the author) has personally seen the glory of the Son of God.  But his fullness and his grace is not only limited to the eyewitnesses: we can all receive his grace.  Not just once, but over and over again (“grace upon grace”).

In case you have any doubts about who The Word is, John concludes his prologue with a very specific ending: “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”.

Jesus Christ is the Word (logos) from God.  But he is more than a message.  He is more than power.  He is God himself!

Continue reading “The Word”
Categories
encouragement theology Uncategorized

Jesus Between the Criminals

Commentary from the Desiring God web site for Easter:

Jesus Between the Criminals

Crucifixion in the ancient world was intended to take as long as possible. No vital organs were damaged, so it took two or three days to die, often from shock or asphyxiation, as muscles used for breathing grew weak.

Luke 23:39–43 is a conversation between Jesus and the criminals crucified alongside him, and it is in the Bible because crucifixion was slow. There was time to talk. This conversation is surely one of the most extraordinary in the Bible. It shows us the similarities of these three dying men, and yet, at the same time, how very different Jesus is.

I encourage you to read the rest of the article:

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/jesus-between-the-criminals

Categories
culture encouragement

I’m a Christian and I think ‘Noah’ deserves a four star review

The Matt Walsh Blog's avatarThe Matt Walsh Blog

untitled (37)

On Friday, my wife and I had a very rare date night.

Naturally, we decided to spend it being pummeled by the blaring condescension of the most insipid, absurd, unimaginative, clumsily contrived piece of anti-Christian filmmaking to come along since, well, probably just last week.

In fact, if I learned anything from Noah, it’s this: despite popular perception, you can often judge a book by its cover. Also, giant deformed rock monsters make for awkward supporting characters.

We’ll meditate on that second item in a moment, but it’s the first point that should be especially emphasized.

Christians: you’ll hear people insist that you can’t criticize the movie until you’ve seen it. Noticeably, the loudest voices in this camp are the ones who will (rather coincidentally, I’m sure) profit immensely if you meet their challenge.

Don’t.

Don’t bother.

You can hate this film without watching it, for the same reason…

View original post 2,159 more words

Categories
culture encouragement marriage and family

The Legend of Valentine

The Roman Emperor Claudius II Gothicus, AD 268-70, is said to have been a large and fierce man.  In his efforts to fight the invading Goths and Germans, he attempted to increase the size of the Roman army.  Volunteers were few, due largely to what was essentially a life-long commitment of being a Roman soldier. Legend has it that the Emperor believed young men weren’t joining because they were too comfortable and too interested in pursuing women.  (Some things never change.  My classmates in college often were incredulous that I was volunteering for military service. I was often asked “Why?!”.)  With dictatorial efficiency, Claudius solved that problem by simply outlawing marriage.

One problem, legend has it that the Priest Valentinus continued to marry Christians.  When called before the Emperor, Valentinus refused to acknowledge the Roman Gods and reportedly witnessed to Claudius the truths of Jesus Christ.  Claudius had Valentinus killed.

A few observations from this legend of Valentine, whom we celebrate each year with a festival of love and affection. He was martyred over refusing to surrender the sacrament of marriage to Rome and for proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ to a pagan emperor.  This legendary Valentine sounds more like a man passionate for Christ and the integrity of the church and its sacraments than he does the ruby little cherubs we see on the front of Valentines Day cards who are committed to spreading kisses and romantic mischief.

If we want to celebrate Valentines Day consistent with the man for whom the day is named, we should honor this legendary martyr through observances he would approve and that would be consistent with his life.  Foremost, we should take the opportunity to witness the Gospel of Jesus Christ to someone.

Second, we should look for a way to support the sacrament of marriage.  For those of us married, that should start with tending to our own marriages.  Are we entirely faithful – not just physically, but also emotionally, in our relations, and with our time as well – to our life mate?  We should pray over our marriage, with our spouse.  For those not married, give an encouraging word to your married friends and pray today for their marriages.  Tell them you are praying for them.

Third, recommit today to loving in a manner worthy of our Christian calling — with all that we have and all that we are.  We are called not just to love others and God with all that we are, but to love also our enemies and those we just do not like.  May Christ so strengthens us.

God bless and Happy Valentines Day.

Update: A Godly Valentines Day Gift from a husband to a wife: commit to praying with your bride – see Spiritual Intimacy a Marriage ‘Game Changer’

Categories
encouragement theology

Convincing my friend Will to pray

The recent holidays several times brought me to my knees, reminding me of the power and importance of prayer inJS Baxter our daily walk, both my own prayer and the prayers of God’s people.  I also learned to put an emphasis on the word “daily” for my walk with God, a point I had known but not really learned before.  More on that and the past several weeks later, Deo volente.  My coming back to the sweet and utter grace of God in His receiving our prayers reminded me of a recent sermon excerpt from my pastor Stephen Davey, which follows for your edification:

J. Sidlow Baxter was a pastor in the early 1900’s. A prolific writer, powerful expositor, Baxter graduated from Spurgeon’s Pastor’s College in London and went on to be used greatly in his generation, on both sides of the pond. His life literally spanned the 20th century – from 1903 to 1999.

He struggle with prayer as a pastor. He let his schedule get in the way of private communion. One morning he took a good look into his heart, and found there was a part of him that did not want to pray and a part that did. The part that did not was his emotions; the part which did was his intellect and will. He writes – and I quote, a rather lengthy page, but we’re finished when I’m through and I believe you will be equally inspired and challenged by this – As never before, my will and I stood face to face. I asked my will a straight question, “Will, are you ready for an hour of prayer?” Will answered, “Here I am, and I’m quite ready, if you are.” So Will and I linked arms and turned to go for our time of prayer. At once all the emotions began pulling the other way and protesting, “We are not coming.” I saw Will stagger just a bit, so I asked, “Can you stick it out, Will?” and Will replied, “Yes, if you can.”

So Will went, and we got down to prayer, dragging those wriggling, unruly emotions with us. It was a struggle all the way through. At one point, when Will and I were in the middle of an earnest intercession, I suddenly found one of those traitorous emotions had snared my imagination and had run off to the golf course; and it was all that I could do to drag the wicked rascal back. A bit later I found another of the emotions had sneaked away with some off-guarded thoughts and there I was in the pulpit, two days ahead of schedule, preaching a sermon I had not yet finished.

At the end of that hour, if you had asked me, “Have you had a good time?” I would have had to reply, “No, it has been a wearying wrestle with contrary emotions and a truant imagination from beginning to end.” What is more, that battle with the emotions continued for weeks. If you had asked me at the end of that period, “Have you had a good time in your daily praying?” I would have had to confess, “No, at times it has seemed as though the heavens were brass, and God too distant to hear, and the Lord Jesus strangely aloof, and prayer accomplished nothing.”

Yet something was happening. For one thing, Will and I were teaching emotions that we were independent of them. In fact, one morning, just when Will and I were going for another time of prayer, I overheard one of the emotions whisper to the other, “Come on, you guys, it is no use wasting any more time resisting; they’ll go just the same.” That morning, for the first time, even though the emotions were completely uncooperative, they were at least quiet, which allowed Will and me to get on with prayer without distraction.

Then another few weeks later, what do you think happened? During one of our prayer times, when Will and I were no more thinking of emotions than of the man in the moon, one of the most vigorous of the emotions unexpectedly sprang up and shouted, “Hallelujah!” at which all the other emotions exclaimed, “Amen!” And for the first time, the whole of my being, intellect, will and emotion –was united in the coordinated operation of prayer.

This is not only our directive . . . this is to be our delight.

More from Pastor Baxter here and here.

Categories
encouragement theology

It’s all about Jesus Christ

It was a gray afternoon in late April 1997, my brother Travis and I were on I-77 North, heading to our Opa’s funeral.  I was a few weeks away from graduating lawschool and a few years into an apologetics struggle that had led me to believe the Bible was true and Jesus Christ was the Son of God.  With that head knowledge, that made me a Christian.  Or, so I thought. My brother had since been saved.

As twenty-something year old brothers of German descent, we liked to argue about everything then.  Everything.  That ride was no exception.  For hours, we argued, discussed and debated the truths of Christianity, particularly the doctrines of predestination.  Over time, we often changed sides in debates.  I suspect during that ride that Travis was arguing in favor of 5 point reformed predestination.  At one point, he turned to me and said, “But Tony, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus his son.”

During the midst of his quoting Romans 6:23, my eyes opened for the first time. I saw that my salvation was entirely by, for and about Jesus Christ.  It was all about him and what he had done.  It had nothing to do with me. God’s glory is ultimate, supreme and eternal. That glory manifested itself in what Christ has done.  It is only and entirely by his grace that we are saved, indeed, that we even exist.  At that moment, God showed himself to me and saved me from my sins.  My life has never been the same.  That was the birth of the new me.  Over the years, that knowledge and experience about the glory of God has deepened as I’ve come to know Christ more and rely upon him more instead of himself.

In my journey, my family and I have been blessed by the fellowship of Colonial Baptist Church and learning under the teaching of our senior pastor, Stephen Davey. He reminds us regularly about the centrality of Christ and his word. (His sermons are excellent and can be heard through his Wisdom for the Heart ministry (check out the online sermons section) and his teaching is broadcast worldwide by the Bible Broadcasting Network. Recently, in the midst of a sermon, he reminded us that even Scripture is all about Jesus Christ.  Indeed, every book is about Christ. Stephen explained, as follows:

Let the Old Testament Record Speak!
by Pastor Stephen Davey

Listen to the record of God’s testimony in the Old Testament – listen to it speak! In

Genesis Jesus Christ is the creating voice of the triune God according to the confirmation of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 1.  It was Jesus, God the Son, who spoke the worlds into existence.  Furthermore, in Genesis, Jesus Christ is the prophesied seed who will crush the serpent’s head;

In Exodus Jesus Christ is the Passover lamb whose blood protects His people from the wrath of God; He is the manna from heaven and the water gushing from the rock;

In Leviticus He is the tabernacle of God among men:

  • He is the brazen alter – signifying his death which gives entrance;
  • He is the brazen laver – promising to cleanse us from every sin;
  • He is the bread – signifying food that satisfied;
  • He is the golden lamp stand – the light of the world that will never be extinguished;
  • He is the altar of incense – ascending and perpetually interceding on our behalf
  • He is the veil – through Whom is our access into the Holy presence of God;
  • And He is the holy of Holies – for in Him God the Father communes with His people and His people commune with heaven.

In the Book of Numbers, He is the Great High Priest who will never fail;

In Deuteronomy, He is the city of refuge where criminals may run for protection;

In Joshua, He is the champion over every obstacle; strength over ever enemy that stands in the way of His people;

In Judges, Jesus Christ is the angel of God, empowering the weak and pursuing the wandering; He is the perfection of patience toward His wandering people;

In Ruth, He is the wealthy Redeemer who buys His bride out of hopeless poverty; placing her in the family line of royalty, giving her the right to everything that belongs to Him;

In First and Second Samuel, He is the Name of the Lord, in whose strength people of faith dare to conquer enemies and slay giants;

In Kings and Chronicles, Christ is the sovereign King behind and above all kingdoms both pagan and God-fearing;
In Ezra, He is the keeper of Divine promises to Israel and the Hand that liberates His people from bondage;

In Nehemiah, He is the re-builder of broken lives and broken hearts and broken dreams; He is the restorer of broken fellowship between God and man;

In Esther, He is behind the scenes, outwitting the Evil One; faithfully protecting His unfaithful people, whispering into the ear of a young queen that for such a time as this, she has been crowned.

In Job, He is the majestic One who rides upon the wind and commands the lightning and the storm; the Lord of mystery who does not explain life, but reveals He is sovereign over all of life;

In the Psalms, He is the Rock of refuge, the Shepherd of the sheep, the Tower of shelter, the Honeycomb of divine revelation;

In Proverbs, He is everlasting Wisdom; Divine counsel for those who accept His invitation to turn aside and listen;

In Ecclesiastes, He is eternal satisfaction over every earthly desire; the One to be remembered in the days our your youth;

Continue reading “It’s all about Jesus Christ”
Categories
encouragement praise theology

What did Christ finish?

Easter 2013 Message

by Pastor Stephen Daveystaff_davey_smile

John 19:30

There is nothing quite so profound as a person’s final words; especially when that person is aware that they are about to die.

Lady Astor was the first female member of the British House of Commons who used to tangle often with Winston Churchill. She was the woman in that famous conversation where she upbraided Churchill saying that if she were his wife, she’d poison his drink. To which Churchill famously responded, “And if I were your husband, I would drink it.” As she lay on her deathbed at the age of 85, she awakened to find her bed surrounded by her entire family. She grinned and said, “Either I am dying, or this is my birthday.”i

Frank Sinatra’s last words were spoken to his fourth wife – he simply looked up at her and said, “I’m losing” – and then died.ii

Queen Elizabeth I brought England to its greatest world power; literature, education, fashion and glamour flourished under her 40 year reign which ended in the 17th century. As she lay dying, she gasped her final words, “All my possessions for a moment of time.”iii

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was finally chased down and trapped in a barn. As soldiers set fire to the barn, Booth was spotted and fatally wounded. After they pulled him out of the barn and away from the fire, Booth lay there with moments to live – he held up his hands and said, “Useless . . . useless.”iv

O. Henry, the famous short story writer and outspoken unbeliever said just before he died, “Turn up the lights – I don’t want to go . . . in the dark.”v

Contrast that to the last words of Charles Spurgeon, the London pastor from the 1800’s who died with these words on his lips – Jesus died for me.

And in His dying breath, Jesus Christ will say just a few words – so profound that believers have read them and studied them and have been nourished by them and strengthened and ready to face life and death because of them.

Why? Because they were words that played out the glory of the gospel in living color – first, with words of agony and separation and suffering, but finally – as he spoke for the last time – words of victory and satisfaction.

We have time for one of Christ’s seven final words or statements – let me invite you to the Gospel of John and chapter 19. Verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” 29. A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

If you compare the Gospel accounts, you discover seven things Jesus said during his crucifixion.Rembrandt TheThreeCrosses 1653

We’ll take time for this statement here in verse 30.

The ancient Greeks were proud of the fact that their universal language was able to communicate so much with so few words.

“To be able to give,” as one wrote “an ocean of matter in one drop of language.”vi

It is finished is only one word in the Greek language – tetelestai – one evangelical author wrote that this is the greatest single word ever uttered.vii

In this one word is wrapped up the Gospel of God.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to be right with God – how to know you’re sins are forgiven – how to know that you can have heaven, guaranteed – it’s bound up in this one word.

It is finished.

And by the way, would you notice that Jesus did not say, “I am finished”, even though in less than 60 seconds he would.

He didn’t say, “I am finished,” but, “It is finished.”

Which is remarkable on a number of fronts, isn’t it?

How often can any of us say, “We finished something?”

I don’t know about you, but my “to-do” list isn’t getting any shorter – it’s getting longer.

I’ll never outrun it.

Think of how many times you’ve said, “I’ve started something” . . . but haven’t been able to say, “I finished it.”

I can remember as a college student, setting out in my spare time to be a salesman selling Amway products? How many others in here have a similar story of success?

Continue reading “What did Christ finish?”
Categories
encouragement love Poem video

Who is God?

My poet, writer and friend David Ballard recently wrote the following painfully elegant poem about how we know much about God from where we find Him in our lives.

 

Who is God?
by David Ballard

God is tears in the dishwater
When you’re doubled over with hurt.
God is trauma in a wheelchair
Crippled from a war
No one else will serve.
God is aching feet
When there’s no other way to work.
God is blisters and callouses
When those who can won’t dig.
God is for those who know they’re small,
And He is really big.
God is in the details, each and every one.
God is love to spread till the sun flames out,
And we’re no longer having fun.
God is Spirit who draws us with the fragrance
Of His peace.
God is Son who shook the gates of hell
With a love that gave release.
God is God whose love and grace
Sent me to my knees.

Categories
encouragement video

Duck Commander

Phil Robertson is the family patriarch (a.k.a. Duck Commander) on the TV show, Duck Dynasty.

You can also see more details about his interview here.

Categories
encouragement praise video

HE is risen!

A short film about life, death, love and the savior of mankind. Happy Easter!

Categories
culture encouragement entertainment marriage and family

Hobbit or Ranger?

Is Your Family a Group of Hobbits or a Group of Rangers?

Wednesday, Aug 11th 2010

By David French

Lord of the Rings begins in the bucolic, family-focused good earth of the Shire, where generations of hobbits live the fantasy world version of the “balanced life.” They till the earth. They lift a pint with good friends. They live in family homes (holes, really) passed from generation to generation. But the Shire can’t actually exist without another group of people — a group that Shire-folk look at with suspicion and mistrust: The rangers.

Rangers (like Aragorn) hang out at the borders of the Shire, visiting only occasionally, and spending their time keeping all the nasty things at bay. They battle the orcs and trolls continually, fighting to keep the Shire oh so very Shire-ish. And they do it without any real thanks because it’s the right thing to do and because they want the world to be the kind of place that is safe enough, prosperous enough, to contain a Shire.

I think I offended a group of very fine, upstanding law students.

One week ago, I was speaking to a group of students about life in the “big law firm,” and I told them that one of their responsibilities was to “work like a rabid dog.”  (I don’t know if rabid dogs are particularly hard working, but I like the image of a snarling, foaming-at-the-mouth young lawyer restrained from attacking the next pile of documents only by the chain on his ankle).  Then I told them that they should not be “that guy” or “that girl” who leaves their colleagues at a critical moment because their kid’s soccer game is just So. Darn. Important.  “That guy” makes people like me miss OUR kids’ games to make up for their lost work.  “You’re in a community,” I said, “A community made up of your fellow lawyers, paralegals, and the secretaries, and you have responsibilities to that community just as you do to your next-door neighbor, to your fellow church members, or to any other part of the world.”

I didn’t stop there.  “Lawyers work hard.  They just do.  There’s no magic bullet for the balanced lifestyle — whatever a balanced lifestyle means — instead, make sure your spouse and children are on the same page with you, that you’re united in your family’s collective and individual callings, and that you support each other as you confront the financial world, or any other part of the world you engage.”

From the looks on their faces and from the reaction of some students afterward, you would have thought I had placed a pile of kittens in a blender and hit “puree” . . . right in front of them.  The comments came flying in.

“Are you really saying that more time with your kids isn’t good?”

“Shouldn’t we all be ‘that guy,’ and isn’t it your fault that you’re willing to stay late?”

“Look, I’ll stay 10 or 15 minutes late to wrap things up, but I’m just not going to sacrifice my family by working late.”   (I wished him good luck with that philosophy and told him I’d never hire him).

“My family is more important than anything, and I’m not going to work any more than eight or nine until five.”  (I told this fellow that “Wal-Mart is hiring.”)

In fact, the comments haven’t stopped.  I’m still getting blowback from the talk, a full week later.  Someone said that I was “mean.”

And they’re right.  I am mean.  But that’s beside the point.  I may be mean, but I’m right . . . I’m factually right, and — more importantly — I’m morally right.  In at least one limited but vitally important sense.

Nothing world-changing has happened within the limited confines of the nine-to-five work week.  Nobody can wake up in the morning and say, “I’m dedicating myself and my family to my fellow man, but only so long as I keep exactly the kind of balance that would make my therapist proud.”  Eight hours per day can help make one happy (maybe), but is happiness the point?  Do we even know in any given day, week, or month what will make us happy over the medium to long term?  We think we do, but I know many, many people who get exactly what they want . . . and then find out it wasn’t as great as they thought it would be.

I don’t think so much of happiness as I think of purpose.  My purpose.  My wife’s purpose.  My kids’ purpose.  Our purpose.  If I may geek out a bit, let me draw analogy from Lord of the Rings.  If you recall (and you should), the story begins in the bucolic, family-focused good earth of the Shire, where generations of hobbits live the fantasy world version of the “balanced life.”  They till the earth.  They lift a pint with good friends.  They live in family homes (holes, really) passed from generation to generation.  But the Shire can’t actually exist without another group of people — a group that Shire-folk look at with suspicion and mistrust: The rangers.  Rangers (like Aragorn) hang out at the borders of the Shire, visiting only occasionally, and spending their time keeping all the nasty things at bay.  They battle the orcs and trolls continually, fighting to keep the Shire oh so very Shire-ish. And they do it without any real thanks because it’s the right thing to do and because they want the world to be the kind of place that is safe enough, prosperous enough, to contain a Shire.

To put things more clearly, I think every family has to ultimately ask itself: Are we rangers or hobbits?  It really is a family decision, by the way.  If a wife wants to live in Hobbiton and the husband heads out to the wild lands, resentment builds in both directions, children feel abandoned without higher purpose, and marriages dissolve in acrimony and bitterness.  Stay in the shire until the parents are unified in heart and mind and willing to take on the wild.

Of course, the obvious analogy is the “Shire” of America defended by the rangers (like the literal Rangers in the United States Army) abroad by the terrorists and radicals who seek to kill us all.  But our culture lives or dies, prospers or withers, on the basis of much more than force of arms.  Liberty at home depends on the courage and perseverance of a small army of police officers, lawyers, and civil rights activists. Economic hope and prosperity depends on entrepreneurs willing to invest their life’s savings, their dreams, and all their energies into new businesses.  Even the much-maligned financiers provide capital that makes virtually any economic project of any consequence possible.  For every employee drawing sharp lines at 5:00 p.m. there’s a boss or owner who has sacrificed much to create such an idyllic job.

In the past three years, I have spent more than 500 days away from home.  More than 300 of those occurred on my deployment to Iraq, but the first full year that I was home, I traveled more than 100 additional days on business.  In my civilian life, I’m a free speech and religious liberties lawyer, and liberty is often under attack here at home.  I travel too much, and I’m trying to cut back, but there’s also work to be done.

At the same time, however, I’m blessed to have a wife who loves and supports me through all (well, ninety-five percent) of my travel.  I’m blessed to have children who understand that “Daddy’s gone” because there are some things that are more important than ourselves, some things are worth fighting for.  And I think they might even be a little proud of me.  In short, Nancy and I made a decision many years ago that we’d be a family of rangers . . . dedicated to defending the Shire.

As a ranger, I’m not much count.  I was a very small cog in a very big machine in Iraq.  I labor hard on my cases and try to achieve justice, but it’s a big world out there, and so far my efforts haven’t reached nearly as many people as the efforts of fellow SixSeeds contributors like Tom “Saving Hundreds of Thousands of Lives in Africa” Walsh or Nathan “Inspiring Millions With My Books” Whitaker.  And our family’s sacrifice is simply insignificant compared to the ultimate sacrifice made by men I knew and loved in Iraq.  We do what we can do, however, and we do it with a common purpose.

When I speak to students, I know that most of them are hobbits, either by choice or destiny.  Their lives and purpose will be defined within the four walls of their house, and their thoughts will be dominated by hearth and home.  There is nothing inherently wrong with that, and there is a lot to love and admire about such a lifestyle.  I want to live in a world that has room for a Shire, and I wish the Shire were larger, so more people could enjoy its bounty.  But folks in the Shire need to understand that the life they live wasn’t created by their own virtue and that they are ultimately consumers of the liberty, prosperity, and security provided them at immense cost by the blood, sweat, and tears of others.  So enjoy your kid’s soccer game and your five o’clock departure from work, but know that your liberty was bought with blood, your security is maintained with blood, and the degree of prosperity you have is largely created by the generations of risk-takers and hard workers that came before you as well as the boss or owner who works beside you.

As for my wife and me, we thank you for making the Shire such a nice and hospitable place to visit.  But we can’t stay for long . . . there’s orcs on the borders.

Ranger

Categories
encouragement politics, economy, etc.

Power and the mourning after

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100

I was wrong on both counts, regarding the election.  It was close and the other guy won.

The experience was worse than anticipated because it made the truth so obvious. There was no way to rationalize it for anything other than what it is: a plurality of tens of millions of Americans knowingly elected a European styled social democrat notwithstanding having lived through four years of a European styled economy while at the same time watching the European social democracies struggle with insolvency with no long-term solution.  The past miserable four years were exactly on par with European social democracies, albeit with greater debt to show for it than even our European friends are accustomed to accumulating in their throes of insolvency.

The election defeat was good for clarity of vision.  I saw for the first time our consistent progress towards social democracy (socialism light).  2008 we elected the same man, though I thought he had just “fooled” many … the plurality didn’t knowingly elect a progressive, or so I told myself.  2000-2008, GWB’s domestic legislation was as progressive, big government as any Democrat since LBJ.  Further, in 2000, the plurality voted for Al Gore, arguably more liberal and certainly less stable than our current liberal President. Eight years of Bill Clinton before that; the man who claimed the era of big government was over, as domestic non-defense spending continually increased…

But wait, there’s more! The European democracies have all long since moved to social welfare democracies.  So have Japan and Canada, and the democracies of Latin America are all either social democrat or left-populist.

American was exceptional precisely because it was founded on the ideas of liberty, individualism, egalitarianism and free markets.  It now appears however that we’re joining the collectivist pack … indeed, Tuesday night was so painful because it became apparent to me that tens of millions of Americans have for some time now been more comfortable with and supportive of the collective compact than with American exceptionalism.  As the Englishman Charles C.W. Cooke eloquently notes, that’s quite unfortunate for the world.

Socialism and social democracy as practiced throughout much of the world is simply not sustainable, as we’re seeing in Europe and as we’ve seen in most the nations south of our border.  Further, for reasons beyond this post, the social democracies are rarely “family friendly” in the sense of producing families with children, and they are almost always militant secular humanist societies.  Apparently, the “welfare” state does not like sharing power or influence with the church or with nuclear families. Ironic, that.

Tocqueville warned that such an end for democratic experiments was inevitable.

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.

Stanley Kurtz notes, the social welfare state may be inevitable, but the system is impossible to sustain.  It will collapse of its own weight, sooner rather than later, regardless or perhaps precisely because it is not obvious enough to a majority of our fellow Americans.

We must keep faith and pray hard for this country, President Obama and the rest of our leaders.  The future could be upon us soon.  We need God’s grace and wisdom.  True power is from Him and for His glory.  Let us rejoice in Him and be witnesses to his truth. Pray. Pray. Pray.

Verses upon which to meditate and remember with your family: Daniel 2:21 (God removes and appoints kings), Romans 13:1 (no authority but God and those established by God), John 19:11 (Jesus telling Pilate he only has power because God gave it to him), Matthew 12:25 (divided Kingdom will be ruined; we shouldn’t writhe in anger over those who vote differently), Romans 8:28 (God works all things for good with those who love Him), Matthew 6:34 (don’t fret over the future – be prepared but don’t live in fear), Proverbs 16:4 (the Lord works everything out in the end even the wicked), Joshua 1:9 (be strong and courageous, not discouraged), Titus 3:1,2 (be subject to authority).

We need to be diligent to study the Bible and history so we can be wise. We also are not to be grumbly and complain about authority. Turn away from mourning to focus your hope in Christ, the holder of power and of the future, which future He promises will include His followers and His perfect kingdom.

Categories
encouragement praise theology video

The Gospel

Categories
encouragement Life! praise

“Beyond Human Comprehension …”

We remember those that served and gave their lives for our country, or served with the promise to do so if called.  We remember because we know the utter miracle and incredible value of each life.  Each life, each one of us, is a remarkable temple — a miracle — testifying to the power and beauty of the living God.  There is no greater sacrifice for one to give to another or to a country.

In this video courtesy of TED.com, artist-mathematician-computer scientists Alexander Tsiaras provides a brief but visually stunning review of our origins:

Categories
encouragement marriage and family

Husbands and wives praying together

The living God speaks to, guides, comforts and strengthens us through prayer.  Through prayer, God is the cement that bonds a husband and wife.  The Bible instructs us to pray continually.  (1 Thes. 5:17.)  Although trite, a family that prays together, stays together.  Both within the “church” and in society at large, roughly fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce.  Those numbers within the church break down, however, upon inspection.  Amongst couples who pray together, the divorce rate plummets to less than one percent.[i]  Prayer demonstrates the power of the living God in the lives of people.  A commitment to praying together on a daily basis should be included in the wedding vows of every Christian couple.  Imagine the witness to this fractured and hurting world if over ninety-nine percent of all married Christians remained married until death intervened.  Marital prayer fosters intimacy and love with each other and with God. It demonstrates the Way to our children and invites blessing to the family.

Categories
encouragement theology

Now that Easter is over…

Easter Sunday has come and gone. As the sugar high wears off, we should take a chance to reflect.

What was it about?
Easter Bunny? White Crosses? Flowers? Going to church?

The more devout would answer that Jesus rose from the dead. But why?

Why did Jesus have to die?

Why would the God of the Universe submit himself to inhuman torture by one of the most cruel nations that ever existed? Why would God allow himself to be killed in one of the most barbaric and humiliating ways possible?

Why?

One of my favorite Bible passages about Jesus was written over 700 years before he was born. The prophet Isaiah wrote the following about Jesus’ suffering:

Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:4-6)

The Apostle Peter repeats this in the New Testament:

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
(1 Peter 2:24-25)

Notice how little goodness we have to give God. We are nothing more than straying sheep.  There is nothing — absolutely nothing — that we can give to God to earn his favor.  (See also Titus 3:5)

But Jesus took all of this.  Not because he was weak, but because he was the only one who could.  All of this barbaric punishment, all of this blood and beating was meant for us. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve.

It would be just another tragedy if the story ended that Jesus died, but that is not the ending — Jesus is alive again!

That is what we celebrate at Easter — Jesus is alive!!!

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
(1 Corinthians 15:20-21)