Thomas and the "Show Me" State

April 19, 2009

Thomas and “The Show Me State”
John 20:24-31

Part of my growing up was in Nebraska…”the Cornhusker State.” I can’t explain that nickname. I guess when Nebraskans see corn…which happens quite a bit…they just want to pull the husks off. Our university teams are even called the Cornhuskers. The previous university team nickname was “the bug-eaters” so Cornhuskers (while not very exciting) is definitely a move in the right direction.

Nicknames are funny things. Missouri is “The Show Me State.” The history of this is shrouded in mystery but some say the nickname was a derogatory reference to some Missouri lead miners who worked in Leadville, Colorado. The men from Joplin, Missouri were brought in to work the mines during a strike and being, unfamiliar with Colorado mining methods, required frequent instruction. The bosses would say, "That man is from Missouri. You'll have to show him."

The most popular story references a speech made by United States Congressman Willard Vandiver. Mr. Vandiver was questioning the truth and accuracy of an earlier speech. And in his own conclusion said, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."

Regardless of its origin, “show me” has stuck and can be found on our Missouri license plates. The motto has come to represent Missourians as having a stalwart, conservative, and noncredulous" attitude. Non-credulous…that a nice way of saying that we assume people are not truthful…as “Show Me State” Missourians, we’re doubters.

So we live in a state known for not believing the statements of others until we are shown it’s so. Missouri is a wonderful place to live, but doubt is a difficult place to live. It’s ok to visit, but you don’t really want to stay there.
· If you always doubt others, it’s hard to trust…and that makes it difficult to get things done.
· If we doubt ourselves, it’s hard to make decisions…we want to make the best choice, but we don’t know what to do…and because we don’t trust others we don’t ask for help.
· If we doubt family members we may either try to control them, or we spend a lot of time making sure we don’t have to depend upon them.

Doubt throws a wrench in the works of almost every endeavor. And if we doubt God, or His goodness, or his power, or doubt his love for us, or His grace, those doubts play out in similar negative ways in our lives.

Wouldn’t you rather set doubt and its negative consequences aside?

Now Thomas never lived in Missouri but Thomas was definitely in the “show me” state in this passage. “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails,” he said, “and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” He wanted to be shown. And he not only wanted to be shown--he was withholding his belief until he was shown, until he got proof. And he not only wanted proof that was “good enough”, he wanted proof that was irrefutable. Quite a demanding guy, Thomas.

Have you ever demanded a proof from God? Alice’s aunt is a woman of amazing faith. A family story she was a girl of about 11 or 12 years old, my aunt looked into the big nighttime South Dakota sky and said, “God, if you are real, make the star I’m looking at fall from the sky.” The star did fall, and, as far as I know my aunt Shirley’s faith hasn’t wavered since that night.

So, after hearing that story as a girl, Alice decided she would like that kind of proof, so one night she looked into the big, nighttime Nebraska sky and said, “God, if you are real, make the star I’m looking at fall from the sky.” And guess what? …It didn’t. It just stayed there, with narry a twinkle…it just burned steadily on, clear and bright.

Have you ever asked God for proof? I have. I’ve asked for God to prove himself to me any number of times through the years. I have asked for signs to help make decisions, or looked for other ways for God to offer me proof—proof that he’s there, proof of his love.

I think all of us have a little “Thomas” in us at some point in our lives, or at several points in our lives. Some people even take a kind of pride in their doubts—they think it proves that they are intellectual or something. Some people are just naturally pessimistic, and take a dim view of everything. I think Thomas was like that because he has a little bit of a track record in the gospel of John. In John 11, Thomas, along with the other disciples is trying to keep Jesus from going back into Judea. But when Jesus says he must go to awake Lazarus, Thomas says to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” And though it’s not in the text, I think it was Peter that turned to him and said, “Thomas aren’t you a little ray of sunshine today!” (kidding) You can hear the resignation, the hopelessness in his statement. Then in John 14, in that well-known passage, Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them….and, Jesus says, “You know the way where I am going.” Thomas says to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” You see, doubting Thomas had doubts long before Jesus died on a cross.

Usually, our doubts aren’t earth-shattering things. They’re more like Thomas’s pessimism or just niggling things, questions that pop up now and then. And we wonder, “Is God…? Could God…? Will God…? Did God…?” Sometimes we can just dismiss our doubts, refuse to think about them. But sometimes something so radically contrary to what we imagined God would allow happens and our entire faith foundation is shaken. I think the crucifixion was radically contrary to what Thomas thought he knew about God and it brought everything into question. His hopes were dashed. And to hope that Jesus was alive again was to risk another crushing disappointment. He was not willing to take that risk.

For a week, this is where Thomas lived. In the darkness of doubt. And through that week, he wasn’t just doubting God, he was also doubting his friends—the other disciples. When he said he wouldn’t believe, he was basically calling them liars, wasn’t he? Do you know what it feels like when someone doesn’t believe you? …I mean when you’ve actually told the truth? You see, we don’t even like being doubted when we’ve lied, and it really bothers us when we’re being truthful.

In 1993 FBI agents conducted a raid of Southwood psychiatric hospital in San Diego, which was under investigation for fraud. After hours of reviewing medical records, the agents had worked up an appetite. The agent in charge of the investigation called a nearby pizza parlor to order a quick dinner for his group of officers.
This is an actual transcript of the telephone conversation:

Agent: Hello. I would like to order 19 large pizzas and 67 cans of soda.
Pizza Man: And where would you like them delivered?
Agent: We're over at the psychiatric hospital.
Pizza Man: The psychiatric hospital?
Agent: That's right. I'm an FBI agent.
Pizza Man: You're an FBI agent?
Agent: That's correct. Just about everybody here is.
Pizza Man: And you're at the psychiatric hospital?
Agent: That's correct. And make sure you don't go through the front doors. We have them locked. You will have to go around to the back to the service entrance to deliver the pizzas.
Pizza Man: And you say you're all FBI agents?
Agent: That's right. How soon can you have them here?
Pizza Man: And everyone at the psychiatric hospital is an FBI agent?
Agent: That's right. We've been here all day and we're starving.
Pizza Man: How are you going to pay for all of this?
Agent: I have my checkbook right here.
Pizza Man: And you're all FBI agents?
Agent: That's right. Everyone here is an FBI agent. Can you remember to bring the pizzas and sodas to the service entrance in the rear? We have the front doors locked.
Pizza Man: I don't think so. (click)

Thomas listened to his friends and said, “I don’t think so.” And so the disciples went through a week with Thomas not believing them as they spoke about seeing Jesus. (Maybe their not being believed is sort of poetic justice for the disciples…because they had not believed the women on Easter morning.) Anyway, there is that uncomfortable distance between Thomas and the others because he didn’t believe them.

That’s what doubt does. It creates distance. When we doubt God, often one of the first things to go is a vital prayer life. Or we doubt, and we begin to neglect reading the Bible. Lack of trust creates distance between whomever we don’t trust and us. I know a family who got in a fight over money. One side accuses the other side of lying. The two sides of the family haven’t spoken in many years. When we feel we can’t trust someone, we tend to cut off communication, hang up the phone, click, like the Pizza Man.

I think it’s a lesson for the church today, that Thomas’ friends, the disciples, didn’t cut off communication with Thomas, just because he was doubting. He was still with them a week after he’d as much as said they were lying. He was still welcome in their gatherings. Perhaps they were willing to leave Thomas and the settling of his doubts to Jesus.

And what’s Jesus’ solution to closing the gap that Thomas’ doubt has opened? He does nothing…for a time. Like my star continued to hang in the sky, Thomas’ doubts are allowed to just continue to hang out in the open. Jesus doesn’t rush to reassure Thomas. He allows Thomas to live with the doubt for eight days. Then when he does appear, he doesn’t reassure so much as he commands. He commands Thomas: “Put your finger here. See my hands. Put out your hand. Place it in my side.”

What Jesus is inviting (or really commanding) Thomas to do is to reverse the effects of doubt. Doubt creates distance and Jesus tells Thomas to draw close. To touch and see and experience the reality of Jesus’ life. Jesus wanted Thomas to take the necessary steps to reverse the doubt. You see, it wasn’t just up to Jesus to turn Thomas’s doubt to belief. Thomas had a part to play. Jesus wanted Thomas to literally get in touch with him.

I think this is key for us when, as the old hymn says, “doubts arise and fears dismay.” We need to get in touch with Jesus. We need to do our part to experience the reality of Jesus’ living presence. Do you believe Jesus wants you to see him? Do you believe Jesus wants you to experience the reality of his life? His way of coming to us may be different than his way of coming to Thomas, but he still seeks us out. I truly believe he is seeking each one of us right now. And our part in closing the gap of our disbelief is to take advantage of what Jesus has given—those things that help us experience his life. Things like prayer and Bible reading and fellowship with believers. Disciplines like fasting and silence and service.

I know you’ve heard all this before and I can guess how few church attenders spend even 15 minutes in prayer or Bible study every week. But maybe the reason the church struggles… maybe the reason so many Christians are weak, maybe the reason you and I experience so little victory over sin, or worry, or doubt is because we aren’t really getting in touch with Jesus.

Take advantage of my presence, Do not doubt but believe, Jesus said.

Thomas’ response to Jesus is a little surprising. He had been very straightforward when he declared he would not believe unless his conditions were met…now that they were met, Thomas’ reply was, “My Lord and my God.”

Wait a minute! Thomas said he wouldn’t believe that Jesus was risen unless he touched him…who said anything about him believing Jesus was his Lord and his God? Shouldn’t Thomas have said, “Ok. I believe it now. I guess you are alive after all.” Instead Thomas leap-frogs right over that, to a place of faith… “Jesus is My Lord.” “Jesus is my God.”

The old saying is “seeing is believing”…but that’s not really true. Seeing is just seeing. Thomas went right on past seeing to believing all on his own. I think that’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Because seeing is different from believing. Jesus doesn’t just want us to see, he wants us to believe.

It’s certainly not by accident that the Gospel writer John follows the story of Thomas with this:

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Your belief is the reason behind the gospel of John. Just as Thomas came to believe and experience Jesus not just as alive, but as his Lord and his God…John wants that same result for every reader. These things are written so that you will believe…and that by believing you will have life in Jesus name. It’s not seeing that brings life. It’s believing that brings life. But it’s not just any belief that brings life….it’s a specific kind of believing. Believing in Jesus.

Howard Hendricks points out that you can believe a little in thick ice and you will survive. You can believe a lot in thin ice and you will drown. Christian faith is always dependent on its object. What or whom your belief in is vitally important. Thomas correctly placed his belief. He didn’t just believe Jesus’ heart was beating again. He believed that Jesus was his Lord, his God.

I’d like to encourage you to combat doubts by doing the things Christians have always found helpful to get in touch, and stay in touch with Jesus. Prayer, Bible Study, fellowship and those other means of grace mentioned earlier.

Through the centuries, the church has also used affirmations of faith to help clarify what we believe, and to set aside doubts and draw our faith close, to help remind us what and whom we believe. So I’d like us to join in an affirmation of faith this morning.

#882 Apostle’s Creed
Do you believe and trust in God the Father?
I believe in God the Father Almighty....etc

Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?
I believe in Jesus Christ His only son our Lord...

Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit....

Re Easter text.

I noticed a something about the Easter text from I Cor. that didn't end up garnering comment in the actual sermon. Paul makes no mention of the women who were witnesses to the resurrection. One might assume that Paul is sexist, which is of course possible, yet he elsewhere teaches that there is no "male or female" in Christ.

Paul, is perhaps bending to the convention of the day. (which would not have considered women reliable witnesses)  It could also be that Paul assumed the Corinthians would not be not be favorably disposed toward a gospel that had women as witnesses.  This too is only a guess but an area worthy of some study by those who do not have to produce another sermon next week.

Nevertheless, Paul's list of witnesses is incomplete, particularly as it does not include the first witnesses. Because this text left the ladies out.  I also included the reading of the text from John 20 during the worship service ...which does include the first witnesses to the resurrection...the ladies.
DF

The Resurrection Difference I Cor 15 Easter 09

The Resurrection Difference
1 Cor. 15: 1-11

Friends let me remind you of the good news proclaimed
The news you received and on which you have taken your stand. This gospel saves those who hold firmly to the word
Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
Here’s what’s important: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
he was buried and then raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 Last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I, or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The NBA runs little replays during its games that try to chronicle turning points in the game. It’s a game changing moment…someone makes a long shot, or blocks an opponent’s shot…and suddenly the game that was going one way, swings around for the other team. If we had video of our lives, we could probably look at some key moments and see that our choices made were game changers for us. Or something that happened changed the direction of our lives.

As a 9-year-old 4th grader I went to kids camp with the neighbor boy from across the street. I know that before that week of camp, I’d been to church most every Sunday of my life. But in spite of my good attendance record during my first 9 years of life, it was not until I went to that camp that the claims of Jesus first took hold in my imaginations. I guess I hadn’t been a very good listener… I probably could have told you the stories, of Christmas and Easter. But at camp it became clear to me that I was far from God, and I was loved by God. And I knew that Jesus had come to save me. And when I went forward and gave my heart to Jesus, I knew he had died for me and that somehow his resurrection made it possible for me to live for him.

The Easter story is important to me. Not only because it represents job security, but because there is no greater story for one to be privileged to tell. I’m also thankful each year that I’m not allergic to lilies. In some of the churches I’ve served there have been so many lilies up front that finding my ruddy little preacher face among the lilies was like a page from where’s Waldo. Some folks really like the Easter story. I suppose you folks must like Easter too, because you’ve made the extra effort. And for that I thank you.

I saw a cartoon of a couple greeting the pastor after an Easter service. The wife’s face is red with embarrassment and shock as her husband once again stuck his big foot in his bigger mouth. (evidently the husband is not a weekly attendee at worship), and as he is shaking the pastor’s hand the husband says, "You're in a rut, Reverend, You preach about the Resurrection every time I come here."

(OK maybe it’s too early for you, you may have to think about that one a bit…but whenever it hits you feel free to laugh.)

I don’t know how it was for you, but at my house growing up, Easter usually meant we usually got a new shirt and maybe a new tie to go with it. Some years the ties were so wide you almost didn’t need to wear a shirt, they filled up the whole space left from your coat. Some years they were skinny, it depended upon the times…but a new shirt with a scratchy stiff collar, and a new tie was part of our family celebration of Easter. We decorated eggs and hid them from each other several times. Until they were getting kind of cracked and nasty looking, then mom would make very colorful potato salad out of the good ones.

We love the Easter story, not only for the new clothes and perhaps a family meal together, we love Easter because somewhere deep within us we know that Easter is the key event of history. Its importance is greater than the importance of Christmas…in fact without Easter, we would not even bother with Christmas at all. The resurrection of Jesus makes the difference.

I’ll tell you one place the resurrection makes a difference. If I wasn’t in church with all of you today, I’d like to be in First Baptist Church of Birch Tree to hear brother Aaron preach. I’d like to hear him especially today. You know why? Because his father passed away this last week and his dad’s funeral services were on Tuesday. And I know that to him, the resurrection is not just a Bible doctrine to be talked over with a few nice stories a joke or two and a poem…much more than a story, Jesus resurrection means hope. The resurrection makes a huge difference …especially to those whose lives have been touched by grief and loss.

When you stand beside the casket of a loved one, suddenly the questions of life, and death, the question of what happens after our days on earth have ended cannot be set aside. The truth is when we’re grieving or hurting we’d like to really know what is true…without any guessing.

If you find yourself feeling doubtful as you consider the resurrection, you’re not alone. That may not be a lot of comfort, and being in the company of others who doubt may not help you sleep at night, but there certainly are many who have serious doubts. Skeptics are everywhere. Bill Maher is not just a skeptic, he’s actively against faith. He said on Larry King that faith is dumb…all faiths are dumb.” He’s very outspoken about all the things he does not believe. I think he’s dumb. So I guess we’re even, except my Bible says “The fool says in his heart there is no God.”

I take comfort in knowing that long before our contemporary skepticism came along, plenty of people dismissed the idea of the resurrection of the dead in general, and dismissed the idea of Christ's resurrection in particular.

It’s a very poor form of scholarship that would say that whereas illiterate peasants in 33 AD were so gullible that they did not understand that corpses do not rise from the dead, but today we know better.”

I wonder if we really understand death better than folks back then. In Jesus day, when someone died, the family and closest friends prepared the body, put it in the tomb. They did it all. I wonder what they would think about our modern ways of handling funerals. Someone comes and takes the body away, and puts makeup on it, and dresses the deceased up like it’s a day at the office. And then people come by and say, “doesn’t he or she look good.” Would the folks in Jesus day say we understand the reality of death? Or would they doubt whether or not we understand the seriousness of it?

I’d say those ancients had more experience with actual death than we do. And the historical record shows that plenty of those ancient, often portrayed as less educated folks did not immediately believe the news of Jesus resurrection. Included among the doubters was the whole group of Jesus disciples. The documented doubts expressed by Jesus' closest followers, and the disbelief by many of their contemporaries read like a episode in the "no spin zone.” And to me their doubts add authenticity to the original Easter proclamation. Those who heard it first, didn’t buy it.

Listen. When Mary (as was read earlier) saw the empty tomb she assumed that someone had stolen the body: "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" She wept and cried: "They have taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put him...Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." In Mark 16, when Mary and several other women told the disciples that they had seen the risen Lord, "they did not believe it"

Luke renders it more bluntly: "They did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense." That first Sunday night the eleven disciples cowered behind locked doors (John 20), and why not? It was not unreasonable for them to fear for their own lives. Later two witnesses from Emmaus reported their encounter with Jesus to the Eleven, "but they did not believe them either," and even Jesus himself "rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe" (Mark 16:13–14). Thomas continues to be the most famous doubter, of course, but Matthew 28 relates that while Jesus was making what might have been his last resurrection appearance "some doubted."

But then something happened and the doubts of these folks went away. Luke writes that after Jesus suffered, "he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive" (Acts 1:3). Somehow, some way, the understandable confusion of these "unschooled and ordinary men" (Acts 4:13) gave way to a bold conviction: "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact" (Acts 2:32).

When commanded by the religious authorities to cease and desist their preaching, Peter and John replied, "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” They claimed that they had eaten with the resurrected Jesus (Acts 10:41), "with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33). All this, mind you, would have screeched to a halt if someone had produced a body.

Scripture speaks to our doubts…because the characters in scripture had to deal with their own understandable doubts. When it comes to someone rising from the dead, the first natural reaction is of course…”you have kidding.” But what did Paul report in our passage? He gave his readers places they could check if they wanted to. He said Jesus appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 Last of all he appeared to me, as to one abnormally born . The revised Standard version puts that final line this way: Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. Paul knew he had not been in the right place at the right time in order to be an apostle… he missed the time of Jesus…but the risen Lord appeared to him…and it turns out there was still plenty for him to do.


Paul’s view of his own life is the testimony of so many believers today…that “last of all, the Lord made himself known to me.” You see for Paul it was not just history that he had related to the Corinthians when he first preached to them. He also preached his own story. Jesus appeared to more than 500 folks at once…most of them are still alive…feel free to ask them! And even if you don’t know or wouldn’t believe them…Paul says, “you do know me…and Jesus appeared to me.”

Folks, I can’t stand here and say that I have an ongoing, every moment sense of the presence of Jesus…I don’t. But I have known his presence sometimes in prayer, I’ve felt the power of his touch sometimes while preaching or singing. I can testify that I know my redeemer lives. What I read as a history of the people of faith…is in part my story too…because he has made himself known to me too.

How about you? What do you really think about the message we preach? That Jesus died for your sins. That he was buried. And on the third day rose from the dead…and then he made a number of appearances…enough so that there is good reason to doubt any doubts we may have.

The resurrection makes a difference…because it is the key event of history. Without his resurrection, his death is just an unfortunate execution by a brutal occupying military. But with the resurrection, the cross is a gift Jesus willingly gave to take away the sins of the world. He lay down his life for us, and he took it up again. The resurrection of Jesus makes all the difference my friends because it is true!

The fact that some doubted, makes me believe it more. This history is not a deception, but an accurate account of people like you and me coming to grips with an extraordinary fact. Jesus was dead but he is alive. He died for our sins, and in his rising we have life with him. This fact changes everything, Jesus is alive.

Palm Sunday John 12:12-18 April 5 2009

Part I: Prepare the Way of the Lord –Open To God
John 12:12-18

(This message was in two parts for Palm/Passion Sunday)

John’s gospel begins by introducing us to a character called John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s message was a simple one: he called people to repentance and he described his own ministry in John 1:23, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" Prepare the way of the Lord.
John was actually quoting the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 40:3-5 3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Now in John chapter 12, we see the people doing just that. Listen:
John 12:12-18 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.
They are putting down their cloaks and waving palm branches as Jesus passes by. The way is prepared and the King is coming to the capital city, and he is being welcomed by the people.
For over a year now I’ve been watching the new lane of Highway 60 being built. You know what, it takes a lot of work to prepare the way. I noticed the surveying crews putting their flags and stakes out. Then farmers moved their fences back, and soon trees were being cut out of the new right-of-way. Brush piles burned for weeks. And then months of digging, blasting, hauling, dumping as the high places had to be brought low, and the valleys had to be lifted up, and the crooked places had to be made straight…or in Missoui, “straight-er.”
Isaiah had never imagined a track-hoe, or a bulldozer. For that matter, he never imagined guys and gals in orange vests leaning on shovels…but he instinctively knew what it would take a lot of groundwork to prepare a highway for the King.
John’s gospel describe a different kind of preparation for the King…rich in symbolism…but pretty low budget in terms of the re-arrangement of hills, valleys and rock and dirt. The people were putting there cloaks down on the road, so that the donkey Jesus was riding could step on their cloak instead of the roadway. This is a gesture not unlike the old fashioned custom of a man putting his coat down so his lady can step on the coat, rather than in a mud puddle. It’s a pretty grand gesture of respect. Personally I prefer the purchase of boots for my lady…but that’s just me.
The crowds were welcoming Jesus with respect, if the mayor had been handy, he’d have been given a key to the city. The people were also waving palm branches. If they’d had the big foam #1 fingers I’m sure they would have waved those too, but palm branches were available, and they were waved in a gesture of exuberant welcome.
It started me thinking, what would it take to make a way for the Lord to be fully welcomed and at work in our life today? If you were to make a “highway for the king” to enter your life…what “low places” would have to be lifted up? I mean by that, where in your life would you need to raise your level to fully welcome the King?
In examining our hearts to welcome the Lord, we need to grasp the whole picture, it’s not just our low mindedness that can be a problem, our heights can be a problem too. Attitudes that are, “high and mighty” come to mind. One thing about preparing a way for the Lord, is it is a ground leveling experience…so if we are looking down on other people…we’re not ready. The high places need to be brought down.
And if you’ve ever worked on your attitudes, and other heart issues, you know that our attitudes, our motives, our thought life is a mess of twists and turns. We have good motives mixed with selfish ones. We deceive, others and ourselves. Where has life gone crooked? Our ways are supposed to be straight, but upon honest examination they rarely are. Can you look at your life right now and say, “My heart is ready for the King to come in?” If you are that’s fantastic!
But if on the other hand you look at your own heart and you see a twist of thoughts, motives, and attitudes. If (in your heart) you see too high, and too low places… it’s hard to say you’re truly ready to welcome the King.
It’s very important for us to take thought and prayer time to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus. Isaiah said the value of this preparation is that the “glory of the Lord will be revealed.”
The “glory of God” enter our lives…Jesus can shine in our lives if we will prepare the way for the king to come in. This palm/passion Sunday reminds us that preparing the way, opens our lives to the glory of God. No wonder John the Baptist called people to repentance…calls us to come up from low ways, and to come down from high-minded ways…to start again in the waters of baptism to live the new life God has for us.
The closest distance between two place (they taught us in geometry) is a straight line, (never mind science fiction for a moment). The quickest way to your best life now, is in your hearts preparing a way for Lord.
Though you’d want to put it in your own words. It might sound something like this: Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins, those low places that have made your way into my life difficult or impossible. And I’m sorry for the high minded attitudes and pride that makes me feel self sufficient, when the truth is I am really dependent upon you for anything good. And Lord I invite you to cut through the tangle of crooked thoughts and confusion that keeps me from fully welcoming you. I open myself to you Lord, come in today come in to stay, come straight on into my heart, Lord Jesus.
(End Part I)


Palm Passion Sunday
Part II: “It is Finished” A way to God is Open to us.
John 19:23-30 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. 28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Some years ago, a 14-foot bronze cross was stolen from Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. It had stood at the entrance to that cemetery for more than 50 years. The cross was put there by a Catholic Bishop and it had been valued (at the time) at $10,000. The thieves apparently cut it off at its base and hauled it off in a pick-up. Police speculate that they cut it into small pieces and sold it for scrap.
As Scrap the 900-pound cross probably brought about $450. The new owners obviously didn't realize the value of the cross.
That is the problem for many, of course—do we understanding the value of the cross. As the gospel writer relates the story of Jesus' crucifixion, a theme that runs through all the details of the story is rejection. We reject what we do not value. Jesus is not valued, he’s rejected throughout the passion narratives. There is the betrayal Judas, one of his disciples…the crowd at the trial chose Barabas a criminal instead of Jesus to be pardoned… Jesus is whipped and spit upon… He is mocked by Roman leaders and denied by Simon Peter. The soldiers who crucified him tossed dice to see who would get his clothing… the cloth of his clothes were valued…but Jesus himself was no longer a consideration...he had been utterly rejected. When he was thirsty, they offered him vinegar…a cruel joke. He was an object of ridicule. Not only did they not understand the worth of Jesus, they did not understand the value of his death.
If Palm Sunday reminds of the importance of opening the way and welcoming Jesus to enter our lives. Sadly, it also reminds us what happens when people express only a shallow welcome. If we are not prepared to welcome the Lord, we can get caught up in a happy moment that doesn’t really mean very much. We don’t want to welcome Jesus like a crowd at a basketball game that wildly cheers the introductions of the players, and is soon booing. Sadly, many of the branch-waving, cloak-tossing crowd who welcomed Jesus to the city, were soon booing…on Sunday they cheered, by the following Friday they were shouting, “Crucify.”
We want to open the way of Jesus in our life, and our being open to him should not depend on the circumstances of the moment.
Jesus (as we were mentioned last week) knew that it was “for this moment” that he had come to earth. The cross upon which he would die, would also be the means for offering the world the gift of eternal life.
From the cross Jesus cried, “It is finished.” John’s gospel introduces Jesus saying, “in the beginning.” Jesus final words from the cross, tell us that the mission has been completed. Love’s redeeming work is done. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
To rightly welcome Palm Sunday we open ourselves to Christ, on that first Good Friday Jesus opened the way to God for us. And He is that way, the truth, the life. The cross of Jesus is what allows us to be forgiven. In forgiveness we are set free, because the Lord has laid on him the sins of us all.
We look forward to the day when Highway 60 is complete. When all the flags are gone, the rocks are moved, the pavement poured, the approaches finished, the crews gone...because then we will be free to travel at full speed.
If you are open to God, the way to God is open to you because of the cross of Jesus. The days of construction are over...there will not be another way...it is finished...the way to God is complete...it is open to you.
Communion is for many a meeting place with God. A time when in the sharing of the bread and the cup we recall that Jesus has completed the work of our salvation by giving his life for us. And in thanks and in faith we receive that gift…we open ourselves to receive God…and we recognize that a way to God has been opened for us in Christ.
I invite you to use today’s celebration of communion as a time to further open the doors of your heart to receive God’s grace. Invite Jesus to work in your life as he sees fit. And use this time to thank the Lord for opening the way for us to be in loving fellowship with the father. It is finished.

Giving God Glory John 12:30-33 March 28, 09

Giving God Glory
John 12:30-33

You’ve probably seen those commercials where someone is “on the spot.” Like the new father that is on the spot where responsibility meets scared to death…he is so there. You never really feel like you’re ready for those moments…and you aren’t…you can’t be.
I remember the first time that the Junior Varsity basketball coach, Larry Meyer, looked down the bench and called my name. My mouth went immediately dry, and I went to the scorer’s table to check in. The buzzer sounded for me. You ask for whom the buzzer sounds? It sounds for me. The next 45-50 seconds were a frantic blur. Find my place on the floor, who am I guarding? Too late the guy who just made the lay-up, that’s who I’m guarding…now run down to the other end, the guards bring the ball up the court and suddenly I’m catching the ball with fingers that feel like wood, I catch it, not cleanly and easily like in practice but I manage to hold on. I have this strong urge to pass it to someone, anyone as quickly as possible. I pass it off to the center…who is a sub like me and he shoots from way outside his range. Mercifully the buzzer sounds and the game ended and I had not totally embarrassed myself… At least not as bad as the center. I was on the court, but I wasn’t ready. My time had not yet come.
About 10 years later I was asked to preach a sermon. I wasn’t really trained…I’d been directing the choir and helping with youth. I chose a great passage…Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Choose you this day whom you will server. When it was over, I had certainly chosen a great passage. My time had not yet come.
Several times in the gospels, Jesus refuses to do things because, he said, “My time has not yet come.” In John 2, Jesus’ mother came to him at a wedding feast and told him that the family had run out of wine…the strong idea was that he should do something about it. Jesus told her his time had not yet come. But then he turned water into wine anyway…but in a way that only the servants knew where it had come from.
Twice in John 7 Jesus says his time is not yet come. In on instance he sends his disciples ahead to the feast, because his time is not yet, and later at the feast when some enemies were wanting to arrest him it says, “they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
I know how it feels when the time is not now. I think I felt ready to be married when I was 17 years old…probably three or four times that year. But gratefully my time was not yet.
Maybe you know how that feels too. Haven’t you been in situations where you wanted to do a great job…but you were pretty sure you didn’t have what it takes to do a great job?
I suppose Jesus didn’t feel like I did, (he always had the right stuff) but he knew when the timing wasn’t right for him to do certain things. He knew when it would be right to reveal his true identity as God’s son…and a sense of when he would glorify God by going to the cross.
Because Jesus had several times in Johns gospel said, “not now” to the timing of things, it’s interesting to me that when Andrew and Philip show up to tell him that some Greeks want to see him. He says, “the time has come for the son of man to be glorified.
I sort of feel sorry for those Greeks…those ancient fraternity brothers who found Philip and said, “We would like to see Jesus.” Because it doesn’t say whether or not they got to see the Lord. I sort of assume they didn’t get to meet with him. They were unfortunately looking for Jesus, just as his “time” arrived, and he may not have had the leisure time to visit with the boys from Theta Pi. When your time comes, it’s a time to focus in on what you have to do, not on what pieces of your life others might like have.
The opening scene of the ABC News documentary The Search for Jesus begins with a voice-over from celebrated TV reporter Peter Jennings. He's reading the Christmas story out of Luke against a backdrop of a Middle Eastern man carving the face of Jesus into a block of wood. As the man finishes and sets the carving down, and as Jennings finishes the Scripture, the camera focuses on Jennings standing in a garden to introduce the documentary. His opening lines highlight the interest that even the secular media has in Jesus.
"Hello, I'm Peter Jennings, and we have been searching for Jesus—as reporters, that is, because it's an irresistible story. And whatever your faith or religion, there's simply no denying the extraordinary influence that Jesus has had—that he does have—in people's lives. The reporters were looking for Jesus because he is an interesting story…the visiting Greeks were looking for Jesus because they had heard of him.
But John’s gospel sticks to the important thing: Jesus announcement that “the hour has come.”
What hour exactly has Jesus been waiting for? The right hour. The correct timing. Jesus’ life was lived with a sense of pacing. It made a difference to him how things played out. Jesus lived his life “on purpose.” Jesus was a man on a mission and he would not be deterred from fulfilling that mission on time. And at last the right time for glory had come. For Jesus, that’s what this doing the right thing in the right time was all about…bringing Glory to God.
God’s glory is what this passage about. And God’s timing is important to God’s glory. After announcing that the hour has come, Jesus quickly lays out his plan. His example is a seed, and unless it is put in the ground and dies, it remains just a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Mentioning the counterintuitive truth that if you focuses on your own life, will lose it. But the one who does not focus on himself will gain life for eternity. Jesus is clearly planning on not remaining a single seed…he wants to produce a crop. He clearly does not hold his own life so dear that he is unwilling to fulfill his mission, even if it means the cross.
In an honest moment, Jesus humanity shows itself, he says, “Now I’m troubled, and what can I say?” I have to say, “no” to myself, because this is the very reason I came to this hour. And then the reason for it all. “Father, glorify your name.”
God speaks from heaven, “I have and I will!” I have been glorified and I will be glorified again. I read that as “atta boy, Jesus!” His son has lived a life pointing others to the Father. He’s proud of his son, and he’s about to be more pleased with him still.
Jesus felt the full weight of his decision…don’t pretend for a minute that he didn’t…his heart was truly troubled…but his sense of purpose, and what he was trying to accomplish was greater than a moments emotion. And look what Jesus understood he was accomplishing:
· Now is the time of judgment on this world. (There’s nothing that makes the world squirm in their sinful ways more than a person living what they believe.) The scribes and Pharisees would be shown for what they were. Rome would be shown to be nothing but a bully, and though they were legally in charge of the situation, the Roman governors were pushed about by the cries of the people.
· Now the prince of this world will be driven out. Satan’s kingdom was about to take the hugest hit. The cross was the decisive battle and for Satan the war would be lost…he is defeated only some mopping up to do now.
· When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.
These promised accomplishments: The world being seen correctly (that’s judgment), Satan’s defeat, and opening the way of salvation to all…I guess that’s a pretty good days work…even if it means a cross.
--That’s a seed dying to produce a crop.
--That’s a man being willing to die, so that you and I can live.
--That’s a person setting aside their emotions to do an amazing yet frightening thing.
--That’s a life that glorifies God.
Pastor Mike Breaux’s daughter Jodie answered God's call to go into missions work: During her junior year of high school, Jodie struggled to find a faith of her own. She wanted to know in her heart that all of what she'd been taught to believe was true and that Jesus Christ was real. Honestly, she was headed down a dark road. But God was faithful to her, and heard her family’s prayers. She eventually found a faith of her own, and when she graduated from high school, she said, "I don't think God wants me to go to college right now. I want to take a year to go to Haiti, and I want to serve people in a medical mission down there."
Her dad said, "Are you sure you want to do this? Jodie, it's 3,000 miles away from home. It's AIDS-infested and the poorest country in the western hemisphere. And do you know it's controlled by the voodoo religion?"
"I know all that," she said. "But I feel like God wants me to go and help those people." I said, "Okay. If that's what you want to do, we'll make it happen."
One of the hardest days of pastor Mike’s life was putting his little girl on an airplane and watching it lift off, not knowing whether he'd ever communicate with her again.
One night the pastor got an e-mail from Jodie. She wrote: "Dad, tonight has been the most remarkable night of my life. I got called out to this hut to deliver a baby. Dad, I've only delivered one, and that was with somebody. I'd never done this by myself, but I was the only one around. They called me, and I get to this hut, and there's this naked, screaming lady on the dirt floor. I got a flashlight, and I'm thinking, Here I am, 18-years-old, and I'm in a hut in a third-world country with a naked, screaming, pregnant lady. I have a flashlight, and I don't know what I'm doing—but I'm here.
To make matters worse, this lady from the voodoo religion walked into the hut, dressed in her red and blue voodoo garb, and began to chant some voodoo incantation in Creole. She put some kind of oil on the lady's head, and when she started to walk away from me and the woman, she stopped at the woman's belly, put some other kind of salve there, and walked the opposite direction—all while chanting this Creole spell. I didn't know what to do. She stood at the head of this woman and stared a hole through me. When I was getting ready to deliver this baby, I just looked back at her, and I started singing. I knew she didn't understand English, but I just started singing: 'Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power, and love, our God is an awesome God.'"
Jodie said that the voodoo lady became completely unglued. She grabbed all of her stuff and ran out of the hut. Jodie wrote, "That night I knew that that baby was going to be born with the blessing of God and not the curse of Satan."
As her dad read Jodie's e-mail, his fatherly side thought, You get on a plane tomorrow! What are you doing in a hut with a voodoo woman in the first place? But then his heart beat with excitement for her. He thought, Way to go, Jodie! Way to bring glory to God! Way to make a difference with your life! Who knows who that little baby she delivered that night is going to grow up to touch and who that person is going to touch—all because of one courageous girl who said, "Okay, God, I want to put my life in your hands; I want to make a difference."
What about you? What are you willing to do to fulfill your purpose? You do know you have a purpose, right? You do! The Westminster Catechism says, that our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Glorifying God is what your life is for, it’s what my life is for. And you know what, you will not glorify God from your pew there…unless you get up from your pew to serve him. I will not glorify God from this pulpit, unless I walk out of this place and serve him. Chances are you will not glorify God from your comfort zone…I’ve yet to meet (or read about) anyone (except Jesus in this passage) whom God called from a burning bush and said, “just keep doing what you’re doing.” In our lives, God is glorified as we adjust to his work, his plan, in his timing.
Jodie glorified God as she followed God’s lead in her life. It took her way outside her comfort zone, and way-way outside her dad’s comfort zone. But who would say that the girl wasn’t livin’? Her heart was pounding, she was on the front lines…and even to her surprise, satan was defeated…just like Jesus said. Glory to God!
Your life brings glory to God when you serve him. In sacrificial going for the sake of another, in extravagant giving for the work of the Kingdom of God, in mind blowing service—where you go out of your way to meet a need. OK, yes and in a million common ways of giving, serving and going that are available to us every day…as long as it’s done to the glory of God.
What if each one of you, allowed God to lead you to just one act of God-glorifying service this week? What if we all sought one way to honor God so that the Lord would say Atta boy______ Atta girl ______. What if we said, “Lord I have no idea what you’d like to do with me, but here I am…show me what to do and I’m so there.”
There’s a commercial on where a girl grabs an absent minded delivery person keeping him from going out into some busy traffic. Then he does something for someone else, and it goes on with a chain of events where people do nice things for each other. What if that began to happen on a whole new level because we left here today and sought to glorify God in just one new way this week. Maybe with a gift, maybe with an act of kindness, maybe with an act of service that stretches us. Leave here to glorify God. Jesus glorified God by doing the right thing at the right time…so sure, you have to cooperate with God for the timing of things…but your time is not past, you haven’t missed it. God can bring glory to his name through your life this week. You know what? I think your time has come. What do you think.

God In Love Provides John 3:14-21 March 21, 09

God in Love Provides
John 3:14-21

M All my life I’ve heard that salvation is by grace through faith. And I’ve also understood that the word “grace” means it’s a gift. The “by faith” line though has been the slippery one for me…how much faith does it take? A little faith? Or does it take a lot? And how do you know when you have enough? …enough to be saved I mean. Or beyond just being saved, when do you actually have the kind of faith that helps you live well. I’m not talking about a prosperity gospel, but I’m talking about living well no matter what kind of circumstance we’re living in. That’s what I want to get hold of.
I remember when my dad retired in the middle 70’s he said something I doubt I’ll hear again in my lifetime. My dad said, “I made more money each year I worked” …he started at a dollar a day (not a dollar an hour) gleaning nut groves in California…that was after the migrant workers from Mexico had picked them. But each year he worked, his pay went up. He helped run a tire shop, He was a carpenter, he was a salesman, he was a manager. Circumstances for him got better and better. For dad, life had been a gift, times were good and he took hold of what was available to him in terms of work and promotions.
But that’s not exactly the world we live in now is it? By all reports, conditions are not getting steadily better and better for every worker. I worrying more about people these days. I worry about what people turn to in these more difficult times. Desperate people make desperate choices…often with really miserable consequences.
Desperation makes for interesting TV, but causes a lot of trouble in everyday life. Would you watch a primetime show titled, “Real Wise Housewives?” Just think of all the good decisions the wise housewives would make, all the stylishly conservative clothes they would wear, all the frustrated pool-men, plumbers and handymen there would be. Great life doesn’t make interesting TV shows. Truth is, dysfunctional stupidity makes interesting TV…but in the midst of dysfunctional stupidity is not where I want to live. In difficult times, there has to be something stable to grasp hold of.
W So, where do we look for a solid hand-hold in troubled times? Do we look to government? Some obviously do. And If we think about it. Most of the decisions being made in government right now are efforts to get what is needed to those who need it. (That’s assuming good motives all around in politics…but let’s grant that for a moment.) The struggle is not really just dollars…it’s faith…what do we trust. What can we count on, what can we hold onto?
G In our spiritual lives, do we really believe God will provide for our needs? …or do we think our true needs will be better being met by something else?
Do we trust…
· a government program perhaps,
· a different job, or
· some kind of positive imaging like Oprah recommends?
Are we willing to receive the provision of God. And if we knew what God was offering, would we be willing to grasp it?
Luckily we are not left just floundering in a sea of ideas. The Bible has a lot to say about God meeting the needs of our hearts. What provision has been made for us there? The passage I’d like us to read is the end of a conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night with a question…not a typical Pharisee’s daytime question trying to discredit Jesus in front of others, but a heart question he’s not even sure he can voice. He is sure that Jesus has come from God but that has him confused. Jesus tells Nicodemus he has to be born again and he doesn’t understand. Jesus tells Nicodemus that the ways of God are like the wind…you can feel it, but you’re unsure where it comes from or where it goes. Nicodemus is still lost…so Jesus gives it one last shot, reminding him of an Old Testament story Nicodemus would know from his studies. Listen:
READ PASSAGE
John 3: 14-21
14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

G Jesus reminds Nicodemus of a problem the Old Testament character Moses faced with God’s help as he was leading the children of Israel in the wilderness. They had gotten into an area where there were a lot of poisonous snakes, and people were getting bit. Some were dying. As you might imagine, when people on a tour are being bit by snakes they immediately go to customer service. Which on this tour was Moses. The people came to Moses and asked him to talk to God about the snake problem…they wanted God to deal with the snakes. They basically said, “Ask God to get rid of the snakes.
But instead God made an odd request of Moses. He told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole and stand the pole in the middle of the encampment. And if someone got bit, they were to go and look at the bronze serpent, and they would get better. I can just imagine how that conversation went with the leaders of the tribes. “…does anyone have any old business?…yes Levi? O the snakes, well, the bad news is God isn’t going to do away with the snakes, you and your folks will still get bit from time to time. But I have an item of new business. We have a requisition here (from God) for a bronze snake to put in the camp center so those bitten by snakes can go look at it. (I think that was probably a long meeting.)
Then after the word got out, I imagine the camp MD and reality therapist, Dr. Phil Shimeelie would come around and visit the snake bit and he’d organize their family members for an intervention. The family members would gather to tell their sick relative that they need to make the trek to the pole and look at the snake. And some might say, “Yeah I’ve been bit …but I’m not going to go look at any stupid metal snake.” And Phil would say, “well how’s that working for you so far? Look your foot’s turning blue!”
The people had a problem: biting snakes. God in love offered a solution…He just didn’t give them the solution they had asked for (they wanted the snakes to God away…but God’s provision for the people involved an act of simple trust. If you get bit, and if you believe God’s promise through Moses, you just go look at the bronze snake on the pole and you’ll get better…if you’re not willing to make the trip to the bronze snake…well you’re taking your chances with the poison.
So when Jesus said, “as Moses lifted up the serpent, so the son of man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life? That’s it, that’s the answer to how much faith is involved in our salvation.
The ancient Israelites had a problem, Moses lifted up a bronze serpent that was (which was God’s provision for snakebite), and it took faith to get well. Notice that God’s provision is giving what you need in a way that you can take advantage of. Provision is different than just fixing it for you without your being a part of it.
When the power goes out we assume someone up or down the line will call Howell Oregon…and sometime later the power comes back on. We seldom know what went wrong or how it was fixed. They don’t tell us, and as long as it comes back on we don’t really care…they just fix it. Provision is different than just fixing it. Provision is to make a way, and leaving it up to people to choose it or not choose it.
This answers the question of how much faith it takes. When Moses put the serpent on the pole, getting well took as much faith as it takes for a snake bit person to go and look at the pole.
Jesus told Nicodemus, that saving faith is this…the son of man is being lifted up that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Does it seem right that our believing, our trusting that what Jesus did on the cross for us, is the way we are saved? No, but it doesn’t have to make sense in order to work. Or better, it doesn’t have to make sense TO ME for it to work.
Have you been to a doctor lately? First they ask you about your insurance …the ways of which is beyond any understanding…but we give them the info. Then the doctor describes conditions we don’t understand and give us medicines we can’t pronounce. And most of the time we still get well. The only things I understand is the list of negative side effects and the part that says “pay this amount.” And oddly enough at most doctor’s offices you can see a funny symbol that looks an awful lot like a snake on a pole. Sort of makes you wonder doesn’t it? The snake on the pole means healing…it has ever since Moses’ buddies were getting bit back in the old testament. And the sign of forgiveness, the sign of healing for you and for me is the cross. That’s probably why we put them up at our offices. You may not understand all that goes on in a church…that’s ok. Just know that it is by the cross of Jesus that we are saved. The cross is God’s provision for us.
Y You may be looking at your life today and realize you’ve been snake bit out there in the real world. Take hold of God’s provision.
· You may think that something has gotten the better of you. Take hold of God’s provision for you.
· Maybe something is tearing you apart, tearing at your relationships, tearing at your peace. The cross of Jesus is there for you.
· Maybe you’re carrying an emotional load that is way too heavy. Lay it down at the cross of Jesus.
· Maybe you look at your life and you can easily see that there is a sin you’ve been holding onto and it’s causing real trouble and you want to be free from it. Sin cannot overcome the healing and forgiving power of the cross of Jesus.
Faith that saves us, rescues us is simply taking hold of what God has provided. It involves us, but it’s not us, it’s God. The cross of Jesus is what God has provided for our healing from the snakebite of sin, the serpents venom of brokenness. It worked for Moses’ friends, it will work for you.
What God has provided us is the cross of Jesus as the means of our forgiveness and salvation, and we take hold of it by faith…by placing our trust in what Jesus did on the cross. His cross has the power to cancel sin. And though he died for all, each one of us must individually place our trust in what Jesus has done for us.
Take hold of the provision of God.