Too often we come up with the "perfect life plan" that will give us
everything we want in the time and way we want. Even a Christian might
come up with a tidy life goal that combines personal pleasures with
Godly purposes (like I did with my career goals). But -- is all our
blueprints really what God wants in our life? He doesn't speak out of
the whirlwind anymore. So, we just need to listen to how He is moving
our lives towards His chosen direction. We have to learn to discern His
voice and be willing to shift our directions to where it seems He is
leading us. We have to read His Word and use what He has already spoken
to determine our paths and, most importantly, our values in life. "The
mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps" (Proverbs
16:9). He knows more than we ever will about the tapestry of life. May
we learn to trust Him when He shifts the path beneath our feet.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Freedom Is Not Free
"There is a black
granite wall in Washington, D.C., that reads "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE." The
cost of freedom--physical freedom and spiritual freedom--is blood,
sweat, and tears. My grandfather Frank fought for me in WWII at the
island of Iwo Jima and came back with scars, dead friends, and a bullet
in his arm. But because of his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of others
like him, our country is free. Jesus paid an even higher price for me as
He shed His blood on the cross. He suffered abandonment, death, and
divine wrath on my behalf. And because of His sacrifice, all who turn to
Him are free. Freedom is ultimately a gift from God, and as His image
bearers, we too can "purchase" freedom for others by bravely shedding
blood, sweat, and tears."
-- Kirk Cameron
-- Kirk Cameron
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Death Swallowed Up in Life
Three years you spent living in His footsteps. You left your home and your life for Him. For three years, He did amazing things. He made the blind see, stilled the roaring seas, brought food to the hungry, forgave sins. The crowds loved Him, the high priests hated Him, He persisted in proclaiming that He was Someone different. He asked you, who do you say that I am? And you said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And He said, Blessed are you. (Matthew 16:15-17)
And, yet, all that changed one day. They went against Him, the crowds which so recently heralded His coming with palms -- they turned on Him and demanded His death. He wasn't the conquering Hero they wanted. The Jewish priests laughed and said, He saved others; He cannot save Himself (Matthew 27:42), and watched Him die on the day of the Cross.
And you too turned away, for like any ordinary man, you couldn't see how this -- God, the Creator, could die like this, could be like this, could supposedly reign like this. The cock crowed and suddenly you knew, all those things He said when He walked among you, there was something more to them, prophecy to them, trust and faith in them. You couldn't hold on to the truth He spoke, you couldn't take it. But now...
The curtain to the Temple rent in two, an earthquake rocked the land. You didn't know it yet, but God was telling you something -- that no more was God far away, no more was He distant, unapproachable like He was in the first dispensation of His love. No, He was close. As close as a prayer, as close as faith, as near as trust. Sin was breached, the chasm of your darkened heart was bridged forever by His blood.
On the third day, you knew. The women told you, you ran and looked. Behold, the tomb was empty. He was gone. Remember what He said? Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). I am the Light of the World (John 9:5). All who believe in Me will have everlasting life, just as I have everlasting life (John 3:36). All who believe in Me will one day arise, as I have arisen, will one day live with Me with God, as I now live with Him, will one day love Him with a love that no man can quench, just as I have loved Him and have loved you from the depths of My heart. No one will be lost from my hand, for I am God.
You looked into His eyes and He was alive, looked into His wounds and they were real, looked into His heart and it was love. What man can kill, God can raise. What man will dishonor, God will glorify. The light shone out of heaven, the song of angels filled the air. He was lifted up into the heavens, to be with the Father.
You went back to the tomb, amazed. How was death so swallowed up in Life? How was pain so swallowed up in Love? How was sorrow so swallowed up in Joy? How did God become Man? How deep was His love? How amazing was His grace! You fell on your knees, in awe of the Savior who took His life for you, who then took life back from the grave to prove that He was all who He said He was, to prove that He was not lying when He said that day so long ago,
And, yet, all that changed one day. They went against Him, the crowds which so recently heralded His coming with palms -- they turned on Him and demanded His death. He wasn't the conquering Hero they wanted. The Jewish priests laughed and said, He saved others; He cannot save Himself (Matthew 27:42), and watched Him die on the day of the Cross.
And you too turned away, for like any ordinary man, you couldn't see how this -- God, the Creator, could die like this, could be like this, could supposedly reign like this. The cock crowed and suddenly you knew, all those things He said when He walked among you, there was something more to them, prophecy to them, trust and faith in them. You couldn't hold on to the truth He spoke, you couldn't take it. But now...
The curtain to the Temple rent in two, an earthquake rocked the land. You didn't know it yet, but God was telling you something -- that no more was God far away, no more was He distant, unapproachable like He was in the first dispensation of His love. No, He was close. As close as a prayer, as close as faith, as near as trust. Sin was breached, the chasm of your darkened heart was bridged forever by His blood.
On the third day, you knew. The women told you, you ran and looked. Behold, the tomb was empty. He was gone. Remember what He said? Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). I am the Light of the World (John 9:5). All who believe in Me will have everlasting life, just as I have everlasting life (John 3:36). All who believe in Me will one day arise, as I have arisen, will one day live with Me with God, as I now live with Him, will one day love Him with a love that no man can quench, just as I have loved Him and have loved you from the depths of My heart. No one will be lost from my hand, for I am God.
You looked into His eyes and He was alive, looked into His wounds and they were real, looked into His heart and it was love. What man can kill, God can raise. What man will dishonor, God will glorify. The light shone out of heaven, the song of angels filled the air. He was lifted up into the heavens, to be with the Father.
You went back to the tomb, amazed. How was death so swallowed up in Life? How was pain so swallowed up in Love? How was sorrow so swallowed up in Joy? How did God become Man? How deep was His love? How amazing was His grace! You fell on your knees, in awe of the Savior who took His life for you, who then took life back from the grave to prove that He was all who He said He was, to prove that He was not lying when He said that day so long ago,
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).
though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).
Friday, April 6, 2012
The Day the Saviour Died
He was from a small town, born to a young mother, working in a woodshop, apprenticed to His father. For thirty years, He lived in relative obscurity. Then, everything changed. He gathered followers, alienated the religious authorities, worked miracles. By the time He was about 33 years old, He was killed through the most heinous executions known to man.
He was Jesus the Saviour, Christ the Messiah, God a very God -- and He died for us.
Pilate, the Roman authority officiating Jesus' execution, told the growing crowds that "No! This man has done no wrong! Don't let Him be crucified." But the people were insistent, they wanted Him dead. The Jewish authorities sneered in the background, knowing that for three years, they've wanted this man done away with. He was upturning their traditions, claiming fulfillment of their Scriptures, telling them they were arrogant and unworthy of the role of spiritual leaders. They now had gotten their way. Pilate gave in and ordered Jesus executed.
The suffering of death by crucifixion demanded a new word in the ancient vocabulary -- excruciating. The pain Jesus suffered was horrendous, but not more than the pain He suffered by allowing His Father, the third person of the Trinity who sent Him down to earth (John 5:23), to abandon Him to the fate of mankind's sin. All the pride, all the murder, all the selfishness, all the idolatry -- all this, He placed on Himself and paid the price of justice their actions demanded. The price was separation, separation from the love, care, and presence of God the Father. And so He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). A hundred billion people, through the ages -- all their sin, He took upon Himself. And as the jeering crowds mocked Him, not knowing it was for this, their great evil He too was dying for, He said to them, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
He died that day, killed by the men whose sins He carried from God's eyes. Why did He do it? Because He was keeping to a promise, a promise of hope and salvation made long ago, to His special people Israel and also to the world. A promise that one day would come a Deliverer who will set at liberty those who were oppressed, to proclaim the year of Jubilee upon the land captured in its own sin. He died to set the captive free, to make righteous the sinner, to give joy to the ones who deserved only darkness for their deeds. Christ died to save souls who hated Him. He died for the people who didn't want Him interfering with their lives. He died for people who loved themselves more than God. He died for people who didn't love Him. He died for us.
He was Jesus the Saviour, Christ the Messiah, God a very God -- and He died for us.
Pilate, the Roman authority officiating Jesus' execution, told the growing crowds that "No! This man has done no wrong! Don't let Him be crucified." But the people were insistent, they wanted Him dead. The Jewish authorities sneered in the background, knowing that for three years, they've wanted this man done away with. He was upturning their traditions, claiming fulfillment of their Scriptures, telling them they were arrogant and unworthy of the role of spiritual leaders. They now had gotten their way. Pilate gave in and ordered Jesus executed.
The suffering of death by crucifixion demanded a new word in the ancient vocabulary -- excruciating. The pain Jesus suffered was horrendous, but not more than the pain He suffered by allowing His Father, the third person of the Trinity who sent Him down to earth (John 5:23), to abandon Him to the fate of mankind's sin. All the pride, all the murder, all the selfishness, all the idolatry -- all this, He placed on Himself and paid the price of justice their actions demanded. The price was separation, separation from the love, care, and presence of God the Father. And so He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). A hundred billion people, through the ages -- all their sin, He took upon Himself. And as the jeering crowds mocked Him, not knowing it was for this, their great evil He too was dying for, He said to them, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
He died that day, killed by the men whose sins He carried from God's eyes. Why did He do it? Because He was keeping to a promise, a promise of hope and salvation made long ago, to His special people Israel and also to the world. A promise that one day would come a Deliverer who will set at liberty those who were oppressed, to proclaim the year of Jubilee upon the land captured in its own sin. He died to set the captive free, to make righteous the sinner, to give joy to the ones who deserved only darkness for their deeds. Christ died to save souls who hated Him. He died for the people who didn't want Him interfering with their lives. He died for people who loved themselves more than God. He died for people who didn't love Him. He died for us.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
How the first Palm Sunday was the real April fool’s
By Jonathan On March 31, 2012, original article at this address: http://uvbconline.com/index.php/palm-sunday-and-april-fools/
Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem to shouts of hosannah on a road covered with palm branches and cloaks. April fools is a day of pranks–say something that’s not true to mislead someone and spring “April fools!” at the opportune moment. So what, other than landing on the same date this year, do Palm Sunday and April fools day have in common?
Jesus’ palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem is often called the triumphal entry. Jesus rode in on a colt, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy, to the shouts of an excited crowd. For a moment it looks like Jesus is coming into his city a triumphant king. But things are not as they seem. In the eleventh chapter of Mark’s gospel we read that after entering the city Jesus went to the temple. When Jesus comes to the temple, crowds shouting ‘hosannah’ and ‘blessed be the coming kingdom of our father Daivd’, we would expect them to enthrone Jesus as Lord and King and worship him. That would have been the appropriate thing to do, the thing that Marks gospel may leads us to expect. But that’s no what happens. There is a huge anticlimax once Jesus makes it to the temple–absolutely nothing happens! Jesus gets there, looks around, and heads back out of Jerusalem to Bethany (Mark 11:11).
You know what happens next in the story. Shouts of joy turn into shouts of opposition. Crowds that rejoiced in Jesus’ coming turn into crowds that shout crucify. If you look at Palm Sunday from the perspective of the crowd it is not a triumph, it is a tragedy. The worst April fools joke in history: a crowd shouting misleading praise only to reveal their disbelief and anger at the opportune moment. I think Mark is trying to teach us something in all of this. James Edwards, author of The Gospel According to Mark writes:
Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem to shouts of hosannah on a road covered with palm branches and cloaks. April fools is a day of pranks–say something that’s not true to mislead someone and spring “April fools!” at the opportune moment. So what, other than landing on the same date this year, do Palm Sunday and April fools day have in common?
Jesus’ palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem is often called the triumphal entry. Jesus rode in on a colt, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy, to the shouts of an excited crowd. For a moment it looks like Jesus is coming into his city a triumphant king. But things are not as they seem. In the eleventh chapter of Mark’s gospel we read that after entering the city Jesus went to the temple. When Jesus comes to the temple, crowds shouting ‘hosannah’ and ‘blessed be the coming kingdom of our father Daivd’, we would expect them to enthrone Jesus as Lord and King and worship him. That would have been the appropriate thing to do, the thing that Marks gospel may leads us to expect. But that’s no what happens. There is a huge anticlimax once Jesus makes it to the temple–absolutely nothing happens! Jesus gets there, looks around, and heads back out of Jerusalem to Bethany (Mark 11:11).
You know what happens next in the story. Shouts of joy turn into shouts of opposition. Crowds that rejoiced in Jesus’ coming turn into crowds that shout crucify. If you look at Palm Sunday from the perspective of the crowd it is not a triumph, it is a tragedy. The worst April fools joke in history: a crowd shouting misleading praise only to reveal their disbelief and anger at the opportune moment. I think Mark is trying to teach us something in all of this. James Edwards, author of The Gospel According to Mark writes:
Mark’s account is noteworthy for what does not happen. The whole scene [the 'triumphal entry'] comes to nothing. Like the seed in the parable of the sower that receives the word with joy but has no root and lasts but a short time (4:6, 16–17), the crowd disperses as mysteriously as it assembled. Mark is warning against mistaking enthusiasm for faith and popularity for discipleship. Jesus is not confessed in pomp and circumstance but only at the cross (15:39).
James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, The Pillar New Testament commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 338.Palm Sunday is vivid reminder of two great truths. On the one hand, Jesus is King and rightly deserves our shouts of worship. On the other hand, faith in Jesus and being a true disciple is not the same as a fleeting moment of enthusiasm or following a crowd. Oh, that our faith would not be a lifelong April fools joke! The real test of our faith, as with the crowd, is in our actions; not so much what we say about Jesus but what we do with Jesus.
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