Posted on Friday, July 19, 2019

God-Forsaken Places

He Endured The Cross For You

It was high noon in Jerusalem, yet it was pitch black. With the cross as ground zero, our planet became a God-forsaken place as the Father turned his back, and the sun retreated from its place in the sky. As Jesus willingly hung on the cross, taking into his own life all the evil, vile sin-filth of mankind, God couldn’t watch. The Father was forced to treat his Son as an enemy; his righteous wrath was poured out on him as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. In that awful, beautiful moment, Jesus became God’s enemy so you could become God’s friend.

The Journey: Mark 15:33-34

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Frederick the Great, was the King of Prussia for almost a half century in the 1700’s. He was in Potsdam when he encountered one of his generals, who was in his severe disfavor. At their meeting the general saluted with the greatest respect, but Frederick abruptly turned his back on the officer. To that, the general humbly said, “I am happy to see that Your Majesty is no longer angry with me.”

That got Frederick’s attention, so he turned and asked, “How so?”

The general responded, “Because Your Majesty has never in his life turned his back on an enemy.”

It was said that the general’s daring statement led to his reconciliation with Frederick.

There was another time in a far more important place when God turned his back on his very own Son as Jesus hung on the cross. That’s why Jerusalem, right in the middle of the day, went pitch black. In that awful moment, with the cross as Ground Zero, our planet became a God-forsaken place. With Jesus willingly hanging on the cross, taking into his own life all the evil, vile sin-filth of mankind, God couldn’t watch. The Father was forced to treat his Son as an enemy; his righteous wrath was poured out on him as he hung on that cross. Jesus became God’s enemy and paid the price of reconciliation so you could become God’s friend.

On the cross, Jesus took on your sins and mine—he became sin for us. It was our sin, the sins of the whole world, that he bore on the tree, and it was that sin at which God’s righteous anger was directed. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21,

For God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

What a beautifully simple yet unfathomable truth: Christ’s death on the cross was the only means to our reconciliation with God. Jesus paid the ultimate price to satisfy God’s righteous wrath and bring us peace with God. We who were enemies were brought near to God, now as friends. Martin Luther wrote,

Christ took our sins and the sins of the whole world as well as the Father’s wrath on his shoulders, and he has drowned them both in himself so that we are thereby reconciled to God and become completely righteous.”

For Jesus, the cross was a God-forsaken place. Hallelujah for God-forsaken places!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for my salvation, so rich, so free.

Posted on Monday, July 15, 2019

Oops I Did It Again

Free Grace Goes Into The Gutter and Brings Up A Jewell

Why are Peter’s blunders featured so prominently in the gospels? To remind us that by the power of the resurrection, failure doesn’t have to be final and sin does not have to be fatal. As John Newton wrote, “We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.” “Oops, I did it again” doesn’t get the final word on you. God’s grace does. Jesus made sure of that at the cross!

The Journey: Mark 14:71-72

Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.

Poor Peter! He can’t seem to catch a break.

He is the guy who boldly stepped out of the boat to walk on the water—and promptly sank like a rock. He was the one who inappropriately blurted out, “Hey, let’s build three tabernacles” when Jesus was talking about his impending death with Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was the first to declare, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” but within seconds was sternly rebuked when Jesus said, “Satan, get behind me, you are an offense to me.” Now, at the Last Supper, Peter blurts out, “if all else fall away, I never will”, but within hours he had denied Jesus three times!

Interestingly, each of the four Gospel writers—Peter’s brothers in Christ— have no problem recording Peter’s failures, particularly his denial of Jesus, in exacting detail, to be read again and again throughout the ages.

Peter’s blunder is like those sports bloopers of athletes blowing their teams chances for victory that get replayed over and over again on TV. Remember the poor guy name Steve Bartman, a Chicago Cubs’ fan who interfered with a Cub’s outfielder trying to catch a fly ball. The Cubs were in the playoffs for the first time in, like forever, and if they won, they would go to the World Series. And this over-zealous fan reaches out and takes a foul ball away from his own player, and the Cubs lose. That faux pas will be replayed on TV forever.

So will Peter’s denial. But thankfully, the story doesn’t end with this fireside blooper. If you take a sneak-peak at the end of the story in Mark 16:7, after the crucifixion, when the women came early in the morning to the tomb on Easter Sunday, an angel at the entrance of the empty tomb gave them this message,

But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that Jesus is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you. (Mark 16:7)

Did you notice the specific reference to Peter? “Tell the disciples…and you especially need to tell Peter!”

Why did Mark add this line? He specifically wanted Peter, and by extension, you and me, to know that the cross covers the worst of our failures, and by the cross God takes the initiative to restore us to full fellowship with himself. That is really the core message of the Gospel! Peter’s blunder forever reminds us that by the power of the resurrection, failure doesn’t have to be final and sin does not have to be fatal. As John Newton wrote, “We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.”

“Oops, I did it again” doesn’t get the final word on you. God’s grace does. Jesus made sure of that at the cross!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, thank you for your great grace that is greater than all my sin. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Posted on Friday, July 12, 2019

Going Out To Dinner

The Journey: Mark 14:25

I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.

We call it Holy Communion—which it is on both accounts: It is a most holy moment, and it is communion with the Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—in the most intimate way possible. It is a very special event for both the individual believer and the collective family of God.

The gospels refer to the inaugural celebration of communion as the Last Supper, and all four of them picture Jesus eating this meal with his disciples before his death on the cross. Not only is our ongoing celebration of communion a very moving time for us, but Luke’s account reveals just how special it was (and is) for Jesus. In Luke 22:15, the Lord said, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

Whenever you come to the Lord’s Table in the tradition of your fellowship, Jesus is already there, eagerly desiring to meet you and to meet your needs with the full force of that which communion symbolizes, the redemptive love that sent him to the cross. Ignatius, the second century bishop of Antioch said of communion, “Break one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, the antidote which prevents us from dying, and a cleansing remedy driving away evil so that we should live in God through Jesus Christ.” What a special privilege we enjoy when we receive Holy Communion.

If that doesn’t make this sacred event special enough, there is a promise within communion that Jesus made to his disciples, and by extension, to you and me, that ought to rekindle the faith, hope and love that we have placed in him. It is the promise of his return. Each time we eat the bread and drink the cup we are proclaiming a promise that one day soon Jesus himself will be physically present to eat this meal with us as the full completion of our redemption is finally revealed.

Coming to the Lord’s Table calls us to look back with loving gratitude for his sacrifice on the cross. It also calls us to look inwardly with serious introspection to examine our lives in light of his vicarious suffering. And it calls us to look around in appreciation for our spiritual family with whom we celebrate the sacred meal. But communion also calls us to look up with joy in anticipation of Jesus’ imminent return to take us out to dinner—the greatest celebration of the Last Supper ever, the marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb…These are the true words of God. (Revelation 19:9)

The next time you receive Holy Communion, I hope it will cause you to think about that day when Jesus will come back and you will sit down for the first time since the Last Supper to eat and drink with him in the fulfillment of his kingdom.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, as I receive Holy Communion, I think of the love you had for me in sending your Son to pay the price for my sin. And with gratitude, I look forward, as communion calls me to do, to the day you send him back for your redeemed ones. And as I that glorious day, I cry out, “even so, come Lord Jesus.”

Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Keep An Eye On The Sky

Even So, Come Lord Jesus

One of the greatest acts of faith is simply this: To keep an eye on the sky and live each day as if Jesus might return at any moment! That’s how the early Christians lived, and that’s how God wants us to live! But are we? C.S. Lewis asked, “Has this world been so kind to you that you would leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind…If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Remember that as you go about your day—you were made for another world.

The Journey: Mark 13:35

You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak.

Will there really ever be a second coming of Christ? The early believers were convinced that Jesus would return in their lifetime, but he didn’t. Were they mistaken?

Now it’s 2,000 years later and he still hasn’t returned. Can we keep saying we are living in the end times and that Jesus could come back at any moment, or are we mistaken as well? All these signs that he predicted here in Mark 13 have been fulfilled—yet still no Jesus! Are we just fooling ourselves?

We would do well to remember what Jesus said in Mark 13:31 & 37, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear… I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!”

I suppose it is possible that Jesus could delay his coming another 2,000 years—I don’t think so, given the increasing instability of Planet Earth. Whatever the case, 2,000 years is no reproach whatsoever to God’s faithfulness or the truthfulness of his Word. That is precisely the point Peter made when he responded to the scoffers who taunted, “Where is the Lord’s coming?” (II Peter 3:4, 8-9)

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The real reason Jesus has delayed his return is not negligence or carelessness, but kindness and mercy. And frankly, I am glad for that! I am glad Jesus didn’t return in 1956, because I would not have been born. I am glad that Jesus didn’t return in any one of the years since then, because in each successive year I know people who became followers of Jesus and were spared from a Christless eternity.

The fact that 2,000 years have passed is utterly irrelevant to the promise of Christ’s return. His coming is still imminent. It could occur at any moment. And his command to be watchful and ready is just as applicable today as it was to the early church. In fact, the possibility of his return should be even more urgent for us because we are now 2,000 years closer to it.

Paul said in Romans 13:11-12, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.”

The writer of Hebrews said, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith.’” (Hebrews 10:35-38)

What Jesus, Paul, Peter, the writer of Hebrews and every other New Testament author are all saying is that one of the greatest acts of faith is simply this: To keep an eye on the sky and live each day as if Jesus might return at any moment!

That is how the early church lived, and that is exactly how God wants you and me to live! But are we? C.S. Lewis asked,

Has this world been so kind to you that you would leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind…If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

Made for another world! If we were to truly grasp that, here is what that would mean for us today:

We would be more patient in suffering. (Hebrews 10:32-39)
We would be more loving and kind. (Jude 21)
We would be more assertive in sharing Christ. (II Peter 3:9)
We would be more forgiving to those who have hurt us. (James 5:8-9)
We would be more careful in our moral life—our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions. (II Peter 3:11-12)
We would be better stewards of the resources God has given us. (Matthew 25)
We would be more focused on the eternal and less concerned with the temporal. (II Peter 3:13)

The truth is, we were made for another world! Jesus said, “when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28, NLT)

So as you go about your business today, keep one eye on the sky—this could be the day!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, send Jesus back today. We long for his righteous rule and your glorious presence.

Posted on Monday, July 8, 2019

Your Best Life Next

What’s Next Is Beyond Your Wildest Dream

Bible scholar Arthur Pink wrote, “Neither the nearness nor the remoteness of Christ’s return is a rule to regulate us in the ordering of our temporal affairs. Spiritual preparedness is the great matter.” Where are you on the preparedness scale?

The Journey: Mark 13:8

Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

A lot of people are wondering these days if we are in the end times—which is okay by me, especially if it leads them to put their faith in Christ as both Savior and Lord. World conditions and human events are causing a lot of shaking and sifting, and with good reason: This present world is heading inexorably toward a predicted finish.

As Jesus speaks of the signs that will precede his return in Mark 13, you realize that we may very well be at the beginning of the end of time. He said at the end of verse 8, “these are the beginning of birth pains.” The “beginning of birth pains” — that means they are only going to get more frequent and increasingly painful before the birthing of God’s prophetic plan. Then Jesus’ provides with exacting accuracy end-time conditions that read like the headlines we wake up to every morning:

The New York Times may report on the increase of international conflict, but Jesus first predicted it in Mark 13:6-7.
CNN may run story after story on catastrophic environmental upheaval caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and wild, destructive weather, but Jesus first prophesied a chaotic cosmos in Mark 13:8.
Fox News anchors may ring their hands over global deprivation of basic needs brought on by rising fuel costs, food shortages and the unstable dollar, but Jesus first said it would happen in Mark 13:8.
CBN, TBN and The Voice of the Martyrs may tell heart-wrenching stories of the proliferation of persecution, but they are only retelling what Jesus told in Mark 13:9.

Yeah, things are going to get pretty ugly at the end—Jesus said so—and it looks like the ugliness has already started. But that’s okay—it only means better things are on the way. So don’t get upset, depressed or worried sick, your redemption is drawing close. And if you’ve gotten too comfy with this present world, consider what C.S. Lewis said,

Has this world been so kind to you that you would leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.

And for certain, don’t get caught up in the explosion of spiritual deception that Jesus said would be the very first sign that we’re heading into the end times. (Mark 13:5-6) Stay alert, because there will be an exponential increase of teachers, preachers and spiritual leaders who will not tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Among the many doctrinal heresies they will promote, my guess is that one of their most convincing doctrines will be that everything is ok, that you should just go about your business, that God wants to make healthy, wealthy and wise, and give you your best life now. When you think about it, that is the same message, since the days of Noah right up to the present moment, that false messengers have always promoted right before Divine judgment. The Apostle Paul warned young Pastor Timothy,

A time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. (II Timothy 4:2-3)

So don’t buy into it. Your best life is yet to come—and it is just around the corner! Bible scholar Arthur Pink wrote, “Neither the nearness nor the remoteness of Christ’s return is a rule to regulate us in the ordering of our temporal affairs. Spiritual preparedness is the great matter.”

Where are you on the preparedness scale?

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, do everything you need to do to get me complete ready to leave this world behind, whether by death or Christ’s return.

Posted on Friday, July 5, 2019

The Offering Police

Jesus Is Counting On Your Generosity

It was offering time in the Temple, and Jesus was watching – and offering running commentary on what people were giving. How would you like that next Sunday at your church when the ushers received the offering? What if your pastor came off the platform with the microphone and commented on each gift, announcing the amounts in the offering envelopes and revealing if they were proportionate to the giver’s income or not? Of course, that will never happen, I hope, but the point is, Jesus is watching how you handle his money, and hoping that you do it generously.

The Journey: Mark 12:41

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money.

It was offering time in the Temple, and Jesus was watching! He was the “offering police” that day, and he didn’t just cast a brief glance and happen to notice what people were giving, he was watching them like a hawk. He saw the quantity and evaluated the quality of each gift. Jesus was providing a kind of a play-by-play commentary of offering time at the Temple on that particular day.

How would you like that next Sunday at your church when the ushers received the offering? What if your pastor came off the platform with the microphone and provided a running commentary on each gift, announcing the amounts in the offering envelopes and revealing if they were proportionate to the giver’s income or not?

Well, that won’t ever happen in most churches I know, certainly not in mine. But I’ll tell you what: It sure would spice up offering time! There would be no need for an offertory; the choir could take a break; the solo could be saved for another part of the service. The play-by-by would be more than enough, wouldn’t you say!

Of course, I am being facetious, but you get the point: Your giving is private, but God knows. He knows what is in your bank account, and he knows what is in your heart. He knows if you are giving joyfully, generously, sacrificially and worshipfully, or if you are giving grudgingly, stingily, selfishly and just for show.

The amount doesn’t count; it’s the heart that God wants in your giving. The poor widow gave only two mites—the modern equivalent of not even one penny. But she gave all she had. She gave out of her poverty, trusting that her meager generosity toward God would now turn into his lavish generosity toward her.

The others that gave in the offering that day gave out of their abundance, but they didn’t put their faith on the line in doing so. They still had plenty, so there was no sacrifice, no trust, no risky obedience involved.

God probably won’t require you to empty your bank account the next time you give, but for sure, he wants you to empty your heart. That is, he wants all of you when you give. He wants your ongoing stewardship to be characterized by love, generosity, sacrifice, risky faith, and expectant trust.

Before you give again, I hope you will give that some thought. And next Sunday, when it’s offering time, take a moment to thank God that there will be no play-by-play commentary. And at the very least, as Peter Marshall said,

Give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving.

Check your bank statement. Truly, this is one of the leading indicators of whether God has taken over your life…or not!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, my flesh screams for me to satisfy me with material things. Forgive my self-centeredness, and give me the will and the power to sanctify my money for your kingdom’s advancement.

Posted on Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Biblical Ignorance and Spiritual Impotence

When There Is No Power, There Is Only Spiritual Impotence

Too many churches today are filled with believers who think they have plenty of Bible knowledge, but in reality don’t because they have no biblical power when it comes to the exercise of their faith. I don’t want to be like that—arrogant yet empty—and I’m sure you don’t either! That was the problem of the Sadducees in Jesus’ day—no real knowledge because there was no real power. As we used to say in Sunday School when I was a little kid, “I don’t want to be a Sadducee, ‘cause they’re so sad, you see!” They truly were a sad lot, and the reason was exactly what Jesus exposed in them: Biblical ignorance and spiritual impotence.

The Journey: Mark 12:24

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”

Ouch! The teachers of the law and the Pharisees weren’t the only ones who incurred Jesus’ ire. This time he went after the Sadducees, pointing out both their ignorance and their impotence.

The Sadducees were a smaller group than the better-known and more popular Pharisees. They were typically the upper crust of Jewish society, the aristocracy, the ruling class—and real religious snobs. Among the many things they believed—or denied—was the resurrection of the human soul after death. That is why they tried to trap Jesus with this question about marriage after the resurrection. The High Priest, along with many of the regular priests belonged to the Sadducees. They were sort of the modern equivalent of the senior pastor and the pastoral staff, or perhaps more likely, they are akin to the religious elite today—denominational leaders, seminary presidents, Bible college professors who deny the inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Jesus and the supernatural.

In the case of this “difficult conversation” with these Sadducees, Jesus went after the very thing they were most proud of—their authority—rightly pointing out that they had neither a right understanding of the Scripture, and therefore, no right to lead: “You do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” Or as the Message translation puts it, “You’re way off base, and here’s why: One, you don’t know your Bibles; two, you don’t know how God works.” If Jesus had been born in Fort Worth rather than Bethlehem, he might have said, “Bubba, when it comes to the Bible, you’re all hat and no cattle!”

Allen Ross writes, “There are Christians today who are very much like the Sadducees of old…Although they claim to be Christian, they do not actually believe in the resurrection, especially the resurrection of Jesus. And to them, doctrines of angels (and demons) are mythical expressions from a primitive mentality. Their form of Christianity has been submitted to modern reason…they are above the common Christian’s simplistic faith.”

All hat when it comes to Bible knowledge, but no cattle when it comes to biblical power. I don’t want to be like that—arrogant yet empty—and I’m sure you don’t either! As we used to say in Sunday School when I was a little kid, “I don’t want to be a Sadducee. ‘Cause they’re so sad, you see!” They truly were a sad lot, and the reason was exactly what Jesus exposed in them: Biblical ignorance and spiritual impotence.

Let’s never allow either our Biblical education or our spiritual position to create a barrier to real knowledge and true power. The antidote for being either a Sadducee or “sad, you see”, is simple faith in God, childlike openness to his Word, humble obedience to his will, and an altruistic desire for his empowerment.

In matters of faith, belief and practice, go back to what Scripture plainly says and ordinarily means—and obey it!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I want to know you. And I want to know Jesus in the power of his death and resurrection.