With Longing

Luke 22:14,15  Then at the proper time Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table.  Jesus said, “I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this passover meal with you before my suffering begins.”

Jesus longed for this day, the day he would break bread with his disciples. Within hours Jesus would be arrested, beaten, and die on a cross.  Scripture says Jesus looked forward to (He longed for) this intimate meal with His disciples.  For in this meal the new covenant is to be remembered for all time.  Jesus broke the bread and said, “This is my body, given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  He took the wine and said, “This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.”  Luke 22

Within hours Jesus did pour out His blood, Hebrews 9:12 says, “Once for all time he took blood into that Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves.  He took His own blood, and with it He secured our salvation forever.”   Jesus knew the disciples did not understand what he was doing or what He was saying.   For just after he shared this meal with them they started arguing among themselves as to who would be the greatest in the coming kingdom.  But He also knew that after His death, He would rise out of the grave and then they would understand.  He knew they would be changed men, full of the Holy Spirit.  Then they would remember, and this day and this meal would be remembered forever.  1 Corinthians 11:26  “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until He comes again.”

As we eat the bread, we too are to remember.  As we drink the wine we too are to announce that he shed His blood for us, that “we are made Holy by His blood.  Our sins have been forgiven, and there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”  Hebrews 10:18

Easter is a time to remember, blood was shed, a body was given.  We are now free to worship God, we are free from the penalty of sin.  This Easter season as you break bread together--remember. Yes!  He is risen!!

Spring Has Come

Psalm 147:18  “Then, at his command, it all melts.  He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.”

I have found myself complaining lately, sick of the cold weather, tired of looking out the window and seeing ice on the lake.  Each morning I look out the window and see a winters worth of ice, dirt and grime still covering the lake.  I find myself thinking spring will never come.
I woke this morning to find the ice was gone!  The lake had been transformed, winters grip had been released, no snow, no ice, no grime.   Spring was here, Praise the Lord!  Not only had the lake been transformed but so had my attitude, I found myself smiling throughout the day.  Sharing with others that the ice was out on the lake.  Spring has come!  Yet I was thinking I missed something, I did not see the ice go out, it was there the day before, now it was gone.

God works in our lives the same way he worked on the ice.  We find ourselves complaining and focusing on winter, focusing on the grim and problems in our lives.  Wondering if God is listening to our prayers.  Maybe doubting that He cares.   Asking, will spring never come? Yet if we ask Him, if we allow Him.  God will work in our lives.  A little at a time He will change us.  Instead of melting away ice, He will melt away the hardness of our hearts. He will clean away the grime in our lives.  We will wake one day to find that while we were not looking, He will have transformed us.  People will see the beauty of Christ (His Son) reflected in us.  Winter will be gone, spring will have come.  At His command our hearts melt, through the wind and trials of life the ice will thaw.

Are you focusing on winter?  Do you feel spring will never come.  Ephesians 4:23,24 says, “Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.  You must display a new nature, because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness--righteous, holy, and true.”  Spend some time with God, put your focus on Him, ask Him to change you.   Then while your not looking, one day you will realize God has changed you, all that old stuff, all the grime will be gone.  Winters grip, Satan’s grip will have been released from your life.  You, like the lake will be transformed, you will have a new nature.   You will find yourself smiling throughout your day, you will find yourself telling others how God transformed you, telling others how the ice has thawed.

Pilgrimage To Jerusalem

Psalm 84:5-7  “Happy are those who are strong in the Lord, who set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains!  They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.”
“Happy are those who are strong in the Lord.”  The other day I ran into a sister in Christ whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of years.  She gave me an update on her pilgrimage, her life’s journey.  As it turns out she has been fighting a battle with cancer.  It has taken a huge toll on her body, I am sure there has been much weeping.  Yet her eyes had that same sparkle I remembered, her smile was still contagious.  She talked of the Lord and His goodness, “He is not finished with me yet!”  she said.  Her mind is set on Jerusalem. Her eyes are set on Jesus, she is still running the race, she is still letting her light shine for all to see.

In our short conversation she told me of the blessings that have been collecting after and during the rains.  She spoke of new friends God has brought into her life, of still being alive when the doctors spoke otherwise.   What a blessing to see and hear her joy shining through the rain.   I was refreshed by her story.  I was blessed by our short conversation.

We are all on a pilgrimage, the question is, what is your destination?  Where is your mind set?  Luke 9:51 “As the time drew near for His return to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”  Jesus’ pilgrimage to Jerusalem was leading Him straight to the cross, yet he was unwavering in his journey.  He kept on His Father’s path, knowing full well what was waiting for Him there.  He knew that He was paving the way, opening the door so we could follow Him home.

Does this day find you walking through a valley of weeping?  Are the rains washing away your hope?   My prayer is that God will lift you up, that He will show you the way to Jerusalem.  That God will set your feet on His path.   I pray that at the end of your journey you will be able to look back and see many pools of blessings, while standing before God in Jerusalem.

Let Heaven Fill Your Thoughts

Colossians 3:1,2    “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power.  Let heaven fill your thoughts.  Do not think only about things down here on earth.”
Some years back I was at a bible study and we were talking about heaven.  I made the comment that I didn’t think much of heaven.  Well that got everyone laughing, the way I said it, it came across as my saying that heaven was not all that great.
Didn’t think much of heaven, isn’t that where most of us find ourselves.  We are so busy with the day to day aspects of our lives that thoughts of heaven rarely enter or minds let alone “fill our thoughts.”  How that changes as we grow old and death and heaven seem a little more real.  I went to visit a elderly friend the other day.  In our conversation we  talked of heaven.  I reminded her of what she said a couple years before, “Heaven, I can’t wait.  I am looking forward to it.”  I remarked how her face glowed as she said it.  She said, “I start talking to people about death and heaven and they want me to stop, they don’t want to talk about it.”  Death? heaven? Not now, not today.
Throughout Paul’s letters he urges us to talk about death and what awaits us afterwards.  To not think about, talk or share with others the reality of heaven, is to not share the heart of the gospel of Christ.  Paul says this, “And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians, who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. ---16-18 First all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.   Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever.  So comfort each other with these words.”    1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 & 16-18
Jesus said,  “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”  This is good news, heaven is real, let it fill your thoughts, preach it to everyone.

Satan Owns The Fence

1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

A couple of weeks ago this column printed a poem by David Sakawski he is 15 years old. In his poem he said this, “The swords have been drawn, There's a line in the sand, Now is the time to decide. For which side do I stand?” David only 15 years old, yet he sees that he must make a choice. There is an old preacher’s saying that say’s, Sitting on the fence isn’t an option because Satan owns the fence. Charles Spurgeon said this, “There is a man who was almost saved in a fire, but he was burned. There was another who was almost healed of a disease, but he died. There was one who was almost reprieved, but he was hanged. And there are many in hell who were almost saved.”

Spurgeon also challenged his congregation to get alone that evening and think upon their relationship with the Lord. He challenged them to write down one of two words, if they thought they were not right with the Lord to write down Condemned. If they thought they did believe in Jesus and had put their trust in Him, to write down Forgiven. He then goes on to tell the story of a young man who took up this challenge and upon looking at his life he had written down the word Condemned. He said, “There it was. I had written it myself; Condemned. As he looked, the tears began to flow and the heart began to break. And before long he fled to Christ, put the paper in the fire, and wrote down Forgiven.” 

As David asked in his poem, “For which side do I stand?” I challenge you today to take up the challenge offered by Spurgeon over 100 years ago, to think upon your relationship with the Lord. To take a piece of paper and write down one of the two words, Condemned or Forgiven.  David finished his poem with these words, “I cried, "Who am I to stand before you?" I fell to my knees and wept with remorse. But the being said, "Rise, I mean you no harm, I sent my Son to die for the worst of the worst. I stood up and looked into his eyes. I did not gaze in fear nor did I flee. He looked down with a smile on his face. I lifted my hands and said, "Please, help me." So he took me with his hand, His strong and mighty hand. And on that fateful day, I crossed the line in the sand.” Condemned or Forgiven on which side do you stand?

In a Moment

Jeremiah 4:20 “Waves of destruction roll over the land, until it lies in complete desolation. Suddenly, every tent is destroyed; in a moment, every shelter is crushed.”  

Revelation 18:17 “And in one single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” I thought of this verse while watching videos of the destruction in Japan. The destruction is overwhelming, like watching a scene from a bad disaster movie. One video I watched, was shot by a local Japanese man, within his 3 1/2 minute video I watched as small items were were being washed through the streets then cars, trucks and finally the houses were washed off their foundations and swept away. People were clinging to the tops of cars and to the roofs of buildings. Within a span of less than 4 minutes all that they owned and felt secure in was washed away. “Suddenly every tent is destroyed; in a moment every shelter is crushed.”  I read an account from a 16 year old who said, “I never took the annual tsunami drills seriously, I thought the towns harbor walls would protect against any big wave.  But the wave was beyond imagination, There was nothing to do but run.”

“I never took the drills seriously.” The worst part of this disaster is that of the 10,000 presumed dead, statistics say only 6% are Christians. Leaving 9,400 of the dead having placed their hope in themselves, government, money or false gods. They are now separated forever from God. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The population of Japan is 127,560,000. Meaning 119,906,400 people are facing eternal punishment unless they turn to Jesus Christ. The worlds population is 6,775,235,741, 34% of the worlds population is said to be Christian, leaving 4 1/2 billion people facing eternity in Hell. According to New Tribes Missions in the next 60 seconds 36 souls go to a Christ-less eternity, that is 51,840 each day. The Japanese people need our help, but they, like the world, really need Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” 

A Dirty Rag

A Dirty Rag

“Matthew 7:3-5  “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?   Hypocrite!  First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Leo Tolstoy wrote a short story titled The Godson.  In one scene from this story the Godson is watching a woman washing a table with a dirty towel.  The more she scrubs the dirtier the table becomes.  She scrubs and scrubs until she is all spent.  The Godson tells her to wash out the towel and then try again.  The women does so and she quickly cleans off the table.  What was impossible before now becomes possible.

The same is true with us.  We try to fix, to clean up the lives of people around us, whether it be friends or family.   And just like the woman we try and try until we are all spent.  God speaks to us as the Godson spoke to the woman, and He says; “Why worry about the speak in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Do not we, like this woman need to ask God to wash out the dirt from our lives?  God can then use us, to help change the lives of our family and friends.  What was impossible before now becomes possible.