The First Life Jesus Died For.

As I contemplate writing some profound, possibly world changing piece of Easter literature, my mind keeps being drawn back to what Easter really means. To those who would claim Christ as their own, it is a time of celebration at the completion of His redeeming work defeating death. What about the other guys. What are they celebrating? In reality this celebration is one that Christ's followers should hold to, and those who do not accept Him as Lord and Saviour have no capacity to understand the nature of the celebration. This in no way means that all people are not welcome in God's presence, it just means that they might not grasp the profound importance of this event. There is actually no way to understand this event unless you travel back 3 days earlier to when Jesus made himself the substitute for all sin. It is at the point that the unsaved man or woman can begin to comprehend what the Resurrection means. Without the death, there is no rising again. Seems simple enough, doesnt it? If you are in the catergory of not really understanding the Resurrection, don't feel alone, we were ALL there at one time. It is not that far away from you either. Let me share a story from the Bible that might give you clarity on the choice that lies in front of you. When Jesus was first captured, the people were given a choice betwen Jesus, a man who had committed no crime, but had upset the powers that be by making claims that they could not comprehend and a common criminal. They chose to set the criminal free. Like most human beings, they feared what they could not understand and they chose to rid themselves of the threat of Jesus instead of actually trying to understand His words. I caution you, do not be like these men. Try to understand the message of Jesus before you cast Him away. The second man the people could choose to set free was a notorious criminal and all around scoundrel Barrabas. The people chose to free the criminal that they knew and understood instead of freeing the man they could not understand. My question for you is what do you think Barrabas did at this point? Did he stand there, in front of crowds of angry people, some of who may have been his victims, or did he accept the gift of his freedom? What semi intelligent human being would choose bondage when the road to freedom lay in front of them. We receive no word from the Bible that Barabbas chose to remain in prison. We can only assume that he had enough sense to trade his life for the life that was offered to him. A single man remained in front of that crowd. A man who had every right to go free, but was sacrificed so that this man, Barabbas, who had nothing worthwile in him could go free. This same offer is being made to you today. You stand there on the stage, next to a battered and beaten Jesus. He looks at you and you know His gaze is asking you if you will choose His freedom or a life of bondage. Do you shake the shackles from you hands, or do you turn to the jailer and slowly make your way back to your cell? I implore you, choose the way of life. Make the sacrifice count for you. Do not let the battered and beaten Jesus go to your death having done so in vain. Take the freedom that is offered you, run from what has caused your imprisonment and breathe the fresh air of a new life. Make this Easter different than any other you have experienced. Jesus did indeed rise again, take advantage of today to rise with Him.

The Seven Words I Never Have to Say.

Today is a momentous day for those who adhere to the Christian faith. It is the day that our freedom was bought. It is the day that a world of possibilities that do not include eternal death became available to us. It is the day that our impending death was substituted for a fully vibrant New Life. As Jesus died on the cross, He spoke the words that we will never have to say. "My Father, why have you forsaken me?" It is the ultimate injustice that the one man who actually did not deserve to be abandoned by God in Heaven was the one who took our place and was separated from God for us. For our greed. For our pride. For our selfishness. For our murder. For our thieving ways. For our adulterous thoughts. For our ultimate sin of making our own way without God. This spotless sacrifice spoke the words that will never pass my lips. God will not forsake me. Despite my tendency to take my own reigns and wander in stubborn circles, God will not cast me away. I will never have to wonder where God has gone. I will never have to look for a bridge back to Him as he is by my side all the times that I have tried to run on my own course. God knows that I am going to attempt to forsake him for pleasure and profit and pride, but he still will not leave me. He has enduring mercy. This mercy was bought and paid for by the death of His son. Do we deserve this mercy? Not likely. Have you received this mercy? Hopefully. Take a closer look at the quality of the decisions you make. Are they free from condemnation? Do they fall short of perfect? Remember, perfect is not really good, perfect is no blemish, no mistake, no sin. His son was perfect and as His death approached, asked His own father why he had forsaken Him. Due to that magnificent sacrifice, we only now have to ask ourselves the question, "My God, why have I forsaken you". There is time to turn around and run back into his arms. There is time to apply the sacrifice of His perfect Son to your life. There is time to enter God's loving arms and know that you will never be forsaken. Those arms will lift you and make you new. Do not waste this chance to guarantee that you will never be alone. Do not waste this chance to choose a new life. Do not hesitate to give your life to the one who bought it many years ago. It is a simple choice, but will have an amazing impact on your life. Never again have to wonder why and if you have been forsaken. You will not be. You cannot be. Revel in this promise and choose to join hands with the one who has been reaching out for you since the day you were born. Never walk alone again. This is His promise and I know it to be true.

Hand over the Gun

" Jim gently caressed the trigger of his _____________ as those who knew him well dove for cover and those who did not know him at all were about to receive a rude introduction". Imagine any sort of weapon with a firing mechanism inserted into this blank (pistol, rifle, shotgun etc..) and it is easy to picture a scene of stark terror and impending tragedy. Some may picture mortal wounds, some may picture wounds that are survived but debilitating, while still others may think of the emotional scarring that would certainly follow such a brutal attack. We would be hard pressed to find anyone who could justify such an attack. Now, try to insert a different word into the blank. How about we try the word anger? The Bible makes it very clear to us that the tongue is a dangerous weapon. It is most often hurtful when it is employed in anger. How is our anger typically manifest? Through the use of a harsh tongue. While it is very unlikely that any of us will ever place individuals in danger by inserting a weapon in the blank, it is a distinct possiblity that our name and the word anger are a much more likely fit.
As devastating as any tragedy may be, I would even theorize that the effects of anger can even be much harder to recover from for the surviving persons as it often takes place over a prolonged period of time and has a tendency to shift causality to the victim. ie. "he or she is angry at me so often, I must have done something wrong". I know a little bit about anger. I can envision my siblings and I hitting the floor on many occasions knowing that a parent had an itchy trigger finger and a full clip. This is something that is not necessarily an exception when it comes to child raising, but when it becomes the rule then it is far more likely to become a problem. When I look back at my early life I recall the sting of anger as it wove its way into the very thread of my makeup as a human being. This umbrella of anger often leads to one of two extremes. It can lead to an increased conformity to make certain that whatever caused the trigger to be pulled will not happen again. (bad grade, detention, missed curfew) The second extreme is a dogged and persistent non conformity. "Can't do it right, won't even try". I feel like this is the catch all for victims of anger as it early on becomes apparent that not enough can be done right to take the weapon of anger out of someone else's hands. I did very little dabbling in the area of conformity as my way of dealing with the anger around me. I went straight to the non conformity. I was going to outduel this anger with cynicism and a perceived indifference. As the years passed, however, the true nature of these charactistics was revealed. "A rose is a rose" and 'anger is anger". I can still to this day be accused of "gently fingering the trigger of my own anger" all too frequently. I often tell my wife that I am not "mad" I am just frustrated. I guess I would rather come off as the victim than the perpetrator and frustration is more a victim thing than being mad. ie.. I am frustrated because I lost my wallet..implies that circumstances are beyond my control. "I am mad because I lost my wallet"..implies a conscious choice to use anger as a coping tool. As I think about it now, anger and frustration are merely a game of semanitics that in no way lessen the likelihood of my family hitting the deck when they see my trigger finger tense up. All I know is that I do not want this blight to continue in my family. I do not want my children to glance nervously around the house before I come home to make sure everything is in place. I do not want my wife to try to guess what I am thinking in order to lessen the likelihood that I will place her in my crosshairs. Most of all I do not want to mortgage my spiritual leadership for the sake of my own selfish desire to espress my displeasure at things around me. I know the debilitating effects that this can have on the spiritual growth of those around you, and I refuse, in the name of Jesus, to be the stumbling block for any. Sure, I will fail at times. It is a certainty. What is not a certainly is that I accept that failure as the status quo. I can accept that my home is a "weapon-free" zone. I can accept that my children and life will long to see me when I have been away, not afraid of what I will find when I return. I can accept that my children's only thoughts about my coming home is that they are ready to climb all over me, regardless if my day was bad or good. As my children age I want them to see less and less of this anger, and more and more of the love that we are commanded to show. I know it is not something that will be easy, but worthwhile things rarely are. I know I will not be perfect, but human being rarely are. I know that God will be there to guide me, and that He always is. I want to ease my finger off the trigger, unbuckle the gun belt and gently hand it over to the loving arms of the One who has shown us such patience and grace that to mirror Him is my lifelong goal and prize. Anger does not reflect well in His mirror, so it is time for it to go. 'Lord, I pray that you will forgive me for being angry, no excuses offered. I realize the root of anger is self pity, and there is no place for that in one of your children. Thank you that I do not have to hit the deck when I come into Your presence, but I can do so bodly. Help my children and wife to be bold in my presence as well, as I display charactersitics that would welcome them to me. Thank you for your promises and your ability and faithfulness in keeping them. Amen

Father Knows Best

Any of us who are followers of this atypical man called Jesus have heard the Bible verse about all things working together for good for them that love God and that are called according to His purpose. I heard this consistently as I grew up but never really gave it any thought. I followed many diverse, often destructive trails without giving this any thought. I had no inkling that God was working a plan in me, and at times I would even have told you that I didn't even want Him to. I had grabbed control of my own sinking ship and as lawn chairs and the orchestra around me slipped into the murky depths my hands still clung to the wheel of the ship, my lip whistling an oblivious tune. I had no idea or thought that God had a plan for me. I thought that my plan was just fine. One of the indicators that I looked to to determine the success of my plan was that there were those around me who seemed to be doing OK following a similar plan. One of the people who I often looked to for confirmation of this fact was my brother. We often times had found ourselves floundering in the same waters and for some reason I felt that as long as I was OK with him then I was on the right path. As we aged, the paths that we were on began to angle off from each other and I found myself in the uncharted waters of my own misery and addiction. My brother knew of my struggles, but he was on a path that was headed in a much more positive direction than I was. Still, the bond that we had as brothers was rock solid even though my lifestyle undoubtedly put strain on him and his young marriage. We had always been brothers and we always would be. Little did I know that this feeling of being joined so close with my brother was a tool that God, in his infinite wisdom, had a plan for. In the meantime, I continued my downward spiral. My difficulties forced me to the point where I had to make a geographical move, if only for a brief respite from my addictions. Still, it was very hard to leave my brother behind as I moved away from he and the rest of my family. This move was really a last gasp, a last wrenching on the wheel of my ship as I tried to salvage a wasteful, floundering existence. I had exhausted what I thought were all my resources but during that year, God grabbed me, shook me, and took the wheel out of my hand. It was sometime during this year when I received an unexpected call from home saying that my brother had just had a major heart attack and that he had actually been dead on the table. He had been brought back by the love of God and by the persistence of his doctor. His children would still have their father. At the time I really did not know how to feel as I was far away from home and far removed. Disbelief, shock, relief and many other feelings ran through my head, but none of them went much below the surface. I know now that I could not actually cope with the thought of my brother dying, so I kept my emotions at an arm's length. How is this part of a plan? You might be inclined to believe that this event caused me to straighten up my act and follow God out of a profound fear and respect for His power. For some reason it did not effect me this way. In fact, it was many years later when I actually began to realize God's intentions through this trial. Contrary to what many of us believe trials are not always put in place to cause us to veer towards a different path. I think that most of the time that is what God intends for us, but I am blessed that this situation is different. This situation allows me, ona dialy basis to glory in the love that God showed for me. I know, in my heart, that God nearly took my brother to accomplish a much greater purpose. Now, my brother and I are closer than we have ever been. We are not out partying, or carousing or living our lives in proximity geographically, but there is no feeling so strong or powerful as living my life in proximity spiritually with my brother. I talk to him across the miles and hear of the love he has for God, and how that love affects his marriage and his fathering of three beautiful children. I, who know all of the flaws, all of the weaknesses, all of the mistakes of the past and can look at him and see the man that God has formed him to be. I can think of the legacy of Godliness that he will leave for his children, and that marriage that increasingly seems blessed by God. What once were conversations about things of little or no kingdom value are now confirmations of God's work and confession of struggles that are turned over to God. His is a life that is renewed, and I, who have been his only brother for 36 years am so blessed that God has shown me the true meaning of brotherhood through the power of His love and grace. I can imagine my brother laying on the table, the doctors and nurses frantically scrambling around, trying to save this young father and husband and then I picture the God of all Creation breathing life into His Creation once again. As my relationship with my brother continues to expand into a deeper understanding of God's work and as we are better able to sharpen each other, I humbly thank God that the breath that he breathed into my brother on that hospital bed is being shared with me to this day. This is the blessing that God had in store for me. Thank you God for the great contrast of being lost and being found, being dead and being raised again. Thank you God for blessing me with a believing family and a brother who breathes new life.

Like a Roaring Lion

In the Bible we often hear different things about the figure commonly referred to as Satan. Paul tells us that Satan is an "angel of light", He is referred to as the Father of Lies, and perhaps the most vivid depiction of Satan is that He is like a roaring lion, seeking who He may devour. This depiction of Satan as a roaring lion is a little bit clearer to me as I reflect on one of the more annoying aspects of my daily life. A few months ago, my wife and I decided to "rescue" a cat from the breeding ground of disease that was our local humane society. After several months of recovery the cat has now fully recovered and prowls the house looking for wayward ankles and toes to bite. Generally these are my ankles and toes, but he has been known to catapult off of the kid's faces every once in while as well. I am now sneaking around the house at all hours, much like Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther, waiting for a well hidden attacker to spring at me. At times I successfully avoid the swiping claws and gnawing teeth, but I also have a few scratches on my feet and ankles that indicate previous battles lost. Even as I write this, I am hunkered silently over the keyboard hoping that "Ninja Cat" does not hear the clickety-clack of my typing and spring out of the darkness towards more vital parts than my feet and ankles. I do actually have to think twice before wiggling my toes in bed, or dragging my feet across the floor or scratching an itch. (think of the catastrophic possiblities with that one). It has taken me several months to develop this awareness as the threat seems to be an imminent and immediate one. As devastating as this sounds, there is actually a far more devastating and destructive pattern of attacks that we as Christians are often times far less aware of. We are not the predators, we are the prey. We are do not walk about in fear, but we should walk around with a deepened awareness of the roaring lion's desire to rip and tear at us in many areas of our lives. He seeks to render our relationship with God and with others to nothing less than dry, gnawed on bones. He fires darts of discontentment, anger, frustration, greed, manipulation and disbelief at us and hopes that one of them finds a vital organ. We as Christians are protected by the blood of Christ, but we are also capable of wandering far from God's protective embrace and travelling to where the Roaring Lion and the Father of Lies is waiting to ply his trade. Be aware of the things you engage in on a daily basis. Our wandering often starts small. A harsh word here, and an angry reply there and we are in the jungle, being stalked. Cling close to Jesus daily and trust that by following His commandments we can blunt the weapons that the Devil would use against us to promote our downfall. Be vigilant, put on the Armour of God, fight against the temptation that surrounds and stand strong against the power of Hell.