In the Know 5

Psalm22:26-28

Just as the earth begins to shed the dark and cold of winter and moves into the brightness of spring, so we too must have our faith come into the light of God’s grace.  As we prepare to enter into Holy Week we may see that much of the focus is on the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.  This can be something that brings us down.  It is a sad time.

But we must have the attitude that Jesus had throughout those dark days.  He knew he was going to go through suffering and pain, but I believe he kept his focus on the ultimate glory that awaited him on the other side of the tomb.

On the cross Jesus spoke the first few words of Psalm 22, words of pain and sorrow.  But I believe he wanted everyone to remember the rest of the psalm.  What good news is there for the poor?  What will the attitude be from all the people?  Why will this come about?

As Christ went through the pain and torment of the arrest and crucifixion, we too sometimes go through the struggles of life.  We experience hurt and pain.  We have times of sorrow and grief and loneliness.  We often face times of hopelessness.

But we need to keep our focus on the other side of the tomb.  There is glory that awaits us all.  Jesus did indeed die, but that death was only temporary.  He was raised again and in that resurrection we are given incredible hope and joy.

As believers we need to be people who are in the know.  We must be people who are aware that the death of Christ is not the end.  There are rich blessings from God that will come our way.  We will be satisfied.  We will gladly give praise to God because we know that the crucifixion was for our salvation, a gift of God’s grace.

When we begin to feel sad or discouraged we must keep our focus on the glory of God.  Dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.  Let us rejoice in that knowledge.

DAILY CHALLENGE:  How can you keep your faith focused on God’s glory?

God Gives Life 3

Luke 23:39-43

We are making plans for our annual vacation this summer. I get excited about going away to a place where we can relax and enjoy the incredible peace and beauty of God’s creation. It is kind of exciting to think that we can leave our familiar home in the morning and be in our vacation spot by sunset. In one day we can go from ordinary to extraordinary.

We see a similar change for a criminal who was crucified along with Jesus. What did one criminal do? What did the second criminal point out? What did he ask of Jesus? What did Jesus tell him?

We are all familiar with the image of three crosses when we consider the crucifixion. The Roman army occupying Jerusalem at the time of Christ would condemn criminals according to their crime, executing like offenders, crucifying them a few at a time. Jesus and these two other men were likely condemned for stirring up trouble for the government.

One of the two men was obviously angry about his fate and began to taunt and insult Jesus. But the second was more self-aware. He recognized that he was receiving the punishment that his behavior and actions had earned him.

But this condemned man turned to Jesus and asked to be remembered. In his own way he was seeking forgiveness from Jesus. And Jesus responded with the promise of a new life in heaven.

We may not be criminals or thieves or political rebels, but we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all deserving of condemnation. But God in His love and mercy offers us the tremendous gift of a new life if we will but receive it.

Through the sacrifice of Christ we are given a new life. That new life is a life eternally spent in heaven with God, but it is also a new life here on earth. When we accept Christ as our Savior the old sinfulness and guilt, the hopelessness of life, is taken away and we are set free with a new and joyous life filled with God’s love.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you turn to Jesus to receive the gift of life?

The Cross 1

Colossians 2:9-12

Peggy has been working diligently the past several days to restore what has been lost in our most recent setback – the computer virus we experienced on April 1. Little by little she is rebuilding what we had, taking it back to where it was and where it should be. It requires a great deal of effort and time on her part.

But as she works I see a parallel to the Easter story. We had a dead computer, so disrupted by the virus that we were about to purchase a replacement. But now what was dead has been brought back and is functioning. And that is the story of Easter.

Jesus was dead. His followers were struggling with their need to move on. And then they found that he was resurrected; Jesus was raised from the dead. And in that time of realization these followers needed to accept and believe what is professed here in Colossians.

How is Jesus connected to God, the Father? What have we received? How are we “raised” now, before our deaths?

Part of the meaning of Easter is that we are promised a victory over mortal death. As Christ was physically deceased and was given a new life, so we can also expect our physical body to die. But then we will receive an eternal existence with God.

When the words of Colossians are true in our hearts then we need not wait until our own deaths to experience a resurrection of sorts. If we can truly accept and believe the sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus, then we believe that the fullness of God exists in Christ, the Son. We are resurrected from our old life into a new life of belief and faith.

And when we believe then we are committed to God, not through a physical circumcision reminding us of our covenant with God, but with a spiritual circumcision – a spiritual covenant.

Our baptism was a reminder that we are dead to our old lives and born anew in Jesus. Knowing this, we are called to live a life in the fullness of Jesus, a life that demonstrates our faith and belief in what Jesus has done. A life in the fullness of Jesus is a life that shows everyone we believe and accept the resurrection of Jesus.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How do you demonstrate your faith in the resurrection?

Our Crucifixion 2

1 Peter 4:12-13

This was one of the devotions we shared while we were in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during our mission trip. We gathered in the evening and this passage was read after a particularly difficult day of hard work and exposure to the quality of life we were seeing around us.

What should not be a surprise? Instead, how should we react?

Life as a Christian is no bed of roses. There is certainly a joy and peace that comes in being a child of God and a servant of Christ. The death and resurrection of Jesus should be a comfort and an assurance to each of us.

But to truly follow Jesus means that we must imitate Christ in every way. This means that we share love as Jesus did; we offer hope and comfort as Jesus did; but we also endure hardships as Jesus did.

It is unlikely that we will suffer in the same way that Jesus suffered on the cross, but we should suffer that longing and desire to bring hope and joy to others. We should be willing to be uncomfortable – physically and emotionally – to serve God.

That was what we were going through in Haiti. We were certainly out of our comfort zone in many ways, but we did it willingly because we wanted to be servants of our Lord. We wanted to do good work for fellow human beings, and we were willing to give up comforts, at least for a little while, for the ultimate good of others.

This should be our attitude as Christians. The gift of salvation and eternal life that Jesus has given allows us the freedom of living a good and holy life. But it also comes with the responsibility of doing what Jesus did – sacrificing, enduring pain and discomfort, persisting through trials and hardships, and doing it all so that others may benefit.

We will likely not be crucified as Christ was on the cross, but we should be willing to crucify our own sinful desires and selfish wants, to put them to death so that we may serve.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What painful trial might you endure for the service of God?

Our Crucifixion 1

Romans 6:12-14

One of the best times in life when I was a child was the end of school. I remember being absolutely giddy with happiness that I no longer was under the strict rules of school nor the strict schedule of classes. I was free to do what I chose.

What are we to avoid? According to verse 13, what type of people are we? What are we to do with the parts of our body? Why is sin not our master?

As with Christmas, the holiday of Easter can lose some of its meaning. We can easily get caught up in the warming weather, the Easter Sunday meal, the egg hunts, the chocolate. And while we can remember that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we can overlook why that is important.

The candy, the eggs, the food, the clothing, even some of the pageantry of Easter are all simply layers that have been put upon the celebration of the resurrection. At the core Easter is all about Jesus rising from the tomb into new life. It was a demonstration – real and tangible – that nothing was impossible for God. It showed that we also have hope beyond death. The grave is not the end for us; just an interruption between this life and the eternal.

But beyond a hope and anticipation of things to come after our death, the resurrection gave us new life and freedom today. Because Jesus assumed the guilt of sin on the cross we are no longer under the law – that is, we do not have to fret and worry over the religious rules and regulations, the hoops and obstacles of faith. It is not through strict adherence to rules that gives us salvation and hope.

Instead we are under the grace of Christ. The crucifixion of Jesus took away our sins if we will accept the sacrifice.

So, under grace, we are free. We do not have to be slaves to sin. Rather we can refuse to do what is not acceptable. We are forgiven and we are empowered by God to do what is good and right. And so, as Paul urges, we do not offer ourselves or any part of ourselves to sinful or wrong activity. Instead, with the freedom of grace, we offer ourselves freely to the service and worship of God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What evil desires do you need to put to an end?