Monday's cartoon

A cute short animation with a strong message. Enjoy, and let me know what message you got from this video. This should be fun.

Easter

It's Easter Sunday. We had a great day today. Church, with God working in our midst, a wonderful lunch with family. A good nap and time to relax. God is good.

The sunrise service was a little cold, 32 degrees outside this morning, but we had a good crowd for that service as well. It's wonderful to see God work in our fellowship.

I wish you all a wonderful day as you celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

My head hurts!

I just finished a new book I got late this week and my head hurts! The book is titled, "Jim & Casper go to church". It's a great idea for a book- Jim is the Christian, Casper is the atheist and they go to church....a bunch of churches...and share what they see. It is a book I must read again! My head is spinning as I think about their observations. The focus of their visits was the larger, well known churches in America...Saddleback, Willow Creek, Mosiac, Joel Osteen's church, and a number of others. The questions Casper, the atheist (by the way I really like this guy) made were challenging to me. I am very provoked by this book and look forward to going through it again with a notepad and pen....it sure has me thinking.....

Good Friday?

It's good Friday. The day we remember Christ's death on the cross. It was, as one author said, the worst and best day of all human history. It is, in fact, the day that clarifies how much God loves us. The depth of his love is shown by the price he was willing to pay to save us. It was a wonderful and awful price all in one. Thanks, Lord, for showing us your wonderful love in that horrible cross.

Serving Christ

Serving Christ is not a glamour job. It's humbling. It's ego crushing. It's a surrender of what I want to be a blessing to others. It is hard! All that is in us does not want to put others first....it just isn't fair! And that is exactly right. Serving Christ, when done right, makes the one serving simply disappear....and so we often get walked on, ignored, taken for granted, abused, used, and...well....treated like a servant! It's dirty, hard, humbling work to serve...you must have the Lord's help or you will get angry, bitter, resentful...selfish.

After Jesus washed the disciples feet here are his instructions to them-

John 13:14 So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet.
John 13:15 I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do.
John 13:16 I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer.
John 13:17 If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it--and live a blessed life.

So, before you get all excited about serving Christ, count the cost. Realize that it's not glamorous. It's "heart-humbling" and it will demand dependence on Christ to do it. I know a few servants walking with God....they are blessed....but the price is high...the price is ME.

He is risen!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

And soon...very soon we who have trusted Christ as savior will be as well. The resurrection of Christ is the fulfillment of his promise to die and rise again.

It's his resurrection that proves he was who he said he was.

It's his resurrection that provides us life, and his Spirit for the now.

It's his resurrection that provides us with the hope of that day to come when we will see him and be like him.

It's his resurrection that promises us eternity!

In the very first sermon of the church Peter's focus was on the resurrection. Here is a portion of one of the most amazing sermons ever preached:

Act 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--
Act 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Act 2:24 "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power....

Act 2:32 "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
Act 2:33 "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Act 2:34 "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
Act 2:35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'
Act 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified."

Amen. I am so excited about the hope we have. A risen savior, a living God, a firm foundation, a living hope....and a soon coming king.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.....we look forward to the day!

Deep thoughts, part 5

Ok, now for some deep thoughts from a shallow mind. Realize that profound is just a word to me, and I live in the world of application (so what do I do with that?) So my thoughts will not stir you to great heights, but I do hope they will encourage you.

It's Easter week. This is the most important week in the Christian calendar. It's the week when Christ came into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover week (we call it Palm Sunday).

It's the week of the passion, when Christ died on the cross.

It's the week when he rose from the dead.

All of this is history. All of it had been witnessed by hundreds, even thousands. More than 500 saw Christ at one time after his resurrection. These events are part of the history of the human race....and yet, almost yearly we see attacks on the resurrection of Christ. This year they "have found his grave"!

I heard one of the film makers say that if this is true it shouldn't affect the Christian faith at all.

Excuse me!

The whole of the Christian faith is built on the resurrection of Christ, and in fact most historians agree with the historical accuracy of the New Testament accounts of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Christ DID rise from the dead to live evermore, and will return to earth as the victorious King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords.

So what difference does it make? It makes all the difference! Paul writes,

1Co 15:13 If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ.
1Co 15:14 And face it--if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors.
1Co 15:15 Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ--sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.
1Co 15:16 If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead.
1Co 15:17 And if Christ wasn't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever.
1Co 15:18 It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves.
1Co 15:19 If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot.
1Co 15:20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.
1Co 15:21 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man.
1Co 15:22 Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ.

Monday's cartoon

The Shepherd's Hook

The Watchmaker

Eternal ripples

I was able to attend and participate in a memorial service for a very dear lady today. One who loved the Lord and loved others. She is home with the Lord today, but the footprints of her life will be seen for years to come. She cared for and loved others in a way that changed their lives, and she did it by aiming them to Christ.

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world...let your light shine in such a way that people will see your good works and glorify your father in heaven."

This dear one always had her light pointed toward Christ. Her life has glorified the Lord, and the ripples from that one life will be eternal.

Well done, dear friend, you have FINISHED WELL!

Palm Sunday, part 4

Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

Palm Sunday began with praise and celebration. The king has come. Hosanna in the highest!

But this day ends with tears because they didn't recognize who had ridden into Jerusalem. They rejected their Messiah! But they missed even more than that. Did you notice that last phrase of verse 44- "because you did not recognize the time of GOD'S coming to you." God had been in their midst providing salvation and offering to be their king and they said, "no".

The sad end of this story is in John 19:15- "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

They rejected the king of the universe, and were left with the king they most wanted to be rid of.

It seems that when I reject God's best what I end up with is a sad substitute. And so, Jesus wept over Jerusalem...and Israel missed the very king they were looking for.....

I wonder how often I miss him in my life?

Palm Sunday, part 3

Daniel 9:24-27 is a very key Biblical passage. It is in fact the only Old Testament passages which calls the Messiah “Messiah.” Elsewhere He is called “Shiloh” (Genesis 49:10), the “Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:10), the “Righteous Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5), the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), etc. But the name by which He is best known, “Messiah,” appears in only one passage: Daniel 9:24-27. Here is an excerpt from the passage:

"Seventy sevens have been decreed for your people… So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two sevens the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”
Exactly what is meant by “seventy sevens”? If you read these four verses just by themselves you might be a bit confused, but if you read the passage in context (as you should) it’s pretty clear what is meant. The text interprets itself. Daniel’s prayer in verses 3-19 refers to seventy years fulfilled, the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity prophesied by the Prophet Jeremiah. The seventy sevens prophecy came in answer to Daniel's prayer. It foretold a period of seven times seventy years which was still to come.

The seventy “sevens” are seventy seven-year periods - 490 years. The prophecy states that “from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens.” 7 + 62 = 69. So 69 seven year periods (7 sevens and 62 sevens) would pass from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem till the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah would be “cut off” and the city and the temple would subsequently be destroyed again.

This prophecy is according to the ancient 360-day calendar employed by both the Hebrews and the Babylonians (Daniel being written in Babylon during the Babylonian captivity after the fall and decimation of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar). So, 69 x 7 years = 483 years, 483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days.

The Persian Emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus (who ruled Persia from 464-424 BC) issued the edict to rebuild Jerusalem on the 1st of Nissan in the 20th year of his reign (that is, March 5th, 444 BC; see Nehemiah 2:1-8). 173,880 days from March 5th 444 BC is March 30th 33 AD. Here’s the math: March 5th 444 BC to March 5th 33 AD = 476 years (1 B.C. to 1 A.D. is one year, there is no year zero) 476 x 365.24219879 days (which is the length of one year according to our modern calendar) = 173,855 days March 5th to March 30th is another 25 days. So, 173,855 days + 25 days = 173,880 days March 30th, 33 AD was exactly 5 days before the Passover (April 3rd, 33 AD). So what happened exactly 5 days before the Passover in 33 AD?
In John’s Gospel we read, “Then, *six days before the Passover*, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. … Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. *The next day* a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! The King of Israel!’" (John 12:1, 9-13)

The day after six days before the Passover equals five days before the Passover. March 30th was the Triumphal Entry, the day upon which Christ presented Himself to the nation of Israel as their Messiah, the first time in His entire ministry that Christ allowed Himself to be publicly proclaimed as the Messiah (Matthew 21:8-16; Luke 19:37-40; cf. Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; 9:9-10; Luke 9:18-21; John 6:14-15). Christ was crucified four days later, the day before Passover. Within one generation Titus razed Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.*

In other words, Jesus came on the exact day prophesied by Daniel hundreds of years earlier, on the 10th of Nissan, the day the passover lamb is selected. The Jews of Jesus day could have figured out when Messiah would come, the information was there for them. As mentioned above Daniel clearly told them the details of when Messiah would arrive. Why did they reject him? Why didn't they know about this day and receive him as their Messiah and King?

Because Jesus came to do something diffeent than they expected, something different than what they wanted. He came the first time as the Messiah to fulfill the role of priest and passover lamb. They were watching for a king to defeat the Romans. They rejected the Messiah and his purpose because it didn't fit with their idea of Messiah.

Do we do the same thing? Do we miss the Messiah in our lives because he doesn't look like what we wanted? Do we miss God's work in our lives because he doesn't do what we want him to do?

*(thanks to gotquestions.org for the detail and math in the notes above. It's a good site for bible questions.)

Palm Sunday, part 2

Exodus 12:1-11- 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

The passover is at the very core of the Jewish faith. Moses, by God's leading, established passover while they were still slaves in Egypt. But what I want you to notice in this passage is WHEN they picked the lamb for the passover sacrifice. They picked the lamb on the 10 of Nissan, their first month of the year. Then, four days later, the lamb was sacrificed on passover.

Guess when Jesus entered Jerusalem? Yes, it was Palm Sunday, but it was also the 10th of Nissan, the very day when the passover lamb is chosen. Four days later, on passover, Jesus is crucified. He came as the king on that day, but he also came as the lamb of passover who would die four days later for the sin of the world.

John told us about this when he introduced Jesus by saying, "Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Only God could plan something so amazing! The prophet Zechariah talked about a man who will someday come as king AND priest. He has come. He has fulfilled his role as priest, and is already king in the lives of millions. One day he will come back, not on a donkey, but on a white horse, to set up his eternal kingdom. Come, Lord Jesus....I look forward to the day!

Palm Sunday

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It is a celebration in the Christian church of the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkeys' colt with the praise of the people welcoming him to town. It's an important day!

This is a quiz for all you great bible students out there- Why is Palm Sunday important? What does it mean and why is it an important day in the Christian faith?

(Over the next few days leading up to Sunday I will unpack this day. I'm really excited about what it means, and I can't wait to tell you more!)

The solitary quest

Prayer is the solitary quest of the christian life. It is the bowing of my knees, heart and mind to God and it's not easy. All that is called my flesh rebels against this solitary quest called prayer.

For me to take time aside from the world, to quiet my mind and heart and spend time with God is one of the most important things I can do in my walk with God, and yet, I must admit it is often the last thing I make time for in my busy day.

What always amazes me is that the sovereign God of the universe invites me into his presence at any time in my day to spend time with him! As I write that I'm embarrassed because I don't spend time with God as I know I need to. Now, I'm not being a legalist here, I simply know that my whole life and all that's involved in it is dependent upon the God who made me, who also invites me to come and visit anytime! Why do we find that prayer is low on our list of things we do?

I do believe that prayer is neglected because it's hard work. It demands silence in a world of noise. It demands solitude in a world of people. It demands dependence upon someone else in a world of self-reliance. It demands patience in a world of NOW. It demands time in a world where we think we have so little free time to give away.

The solitary quest is not intended to get God to do something. It's not intended as a time to submit my wish list. It's not meant to be a time to complain. It's my opportunity to quietly tune my mind and life to the one who made me. It's my opportunity to get to know God personally. It's my time to be quiet in his presence and listen....for you see, my goal is not to get a word from God...my goal is to know him. And when I spend time with him, and get to know him, my world changes. My mind and heart quiet down. My fears calm. My brow softens. My sighs turn to giggles. And the God who already knows what I need often answers prayers I never asked.

I spent time with the creator of the universe! Will he not do what's best in my life? The more I know him the more I will trust him. When I'm fearful, worried, scared.....it's clear I have lost sight of God...it's time for a solitary quest to spend time with my God. Whether he answers my prayers is no longer the issue, now my quest is simply be with him. The rest will work out, for you see he's God!

Col 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.