Kneeling at the cross
Such a wondrous place to be,
I find my greatest freedom there
At this place called Calvary.
For here is where it all begins,
If you are willing to receive.
At this pivot point we each decide
Our eternal destiny.
Yes, God took our greatest evil,
The murder of his son,
And with his loving power
Salvation for all He won.
Now kneel with me if you will,
And receive this very hour,
The salvation offered freely
Enlivened with resurrection power.
I work part time as a driving instructor. I am well versed on the rules of the road. I know exactly how other drivers are supposed to drive. In light of the general way people drive; this is a dilemma for someone trying to not be judgmental. Driving has become the proving grounds of my sinful nature. In-other-words while driving, I prove myself a sinner. I frequently blurt out expletives like jerk and idiot.
Monday I was driving to my house after a driving lesson. As all Americans seem to be, I was in a hurry. I came to an intersection where I was turning right. I stopped correctly behind the crosswalk before moving forward to make my right turn on red. However, the gentleman in the left turn lane stopped all the way across the crosswalk, blocking my view of the cross traffic. I was grateful that he slowed me down and made me wait for the light; not really. After my usual pronouncement of his lack of intelligence and moral character, I was struck by the thought, he’s my neighbor. I found myself changing from annoyance to compassion. I thank the Holy Spirit for the thought.
The rest of the journey home was occupied by thinking about “my neighbor”. Jesus made some clear statements about our neighbors such as: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19). Yep, I was falling painfully short of loving my neighbor. That afternoon, I started reading through the scriptures about my neighbor. In Luke 10: 29-37 Jesus responds to the question, “And who is my neighbor?” with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans were hated by the Jewish people of Jesus’ time. By using the Samaritan as the good guy of the story, Jesus nailed the prejudice of the time. Today, perhaps the story would be of the Good Muslim or in the Middle East, the Good Christian.
My conclusion, after my study, is that everybody I come into contact with is my neighbor. All the man in the left turn lane needed from me was patience and compassion. Everyone I meet needs at least that. A smile and an encouraging word would be nice, but they certainly don’t need my judgement. Every day I obviously fall short of perfection, but I have the Holy Spirit to reminding me of the words Jesus spoke. With his help I plan to be a better neighbor. If we should run into each other someday, just know I’d be delighted to be treated like your neighbor. I’ll try to respond with the same recognition. God bless you neighbors.
Author’s note:
This has been a challenging week of trying to love my neighbor. I have been reminded of how desperately I need the salvation Jesus bought for me on the cross. Lord thank you for your mercy and grace, Amen.
It is a fact that we are all going to die. The mortality rate among humans is 100%. People around me are dying. Recently, a friend of mine who was 15 years younger died from brain cancer. We’ve lost two women in our church in the last year. I know others who are currently fighting cancer trying to stay alive. The death of others always brings us closer to the reality of our own mortality. The loss of a loved one is deeply painful, almost unbearable. So, for a Christian what is a good perspective?
Our pastor, Eric Nelson*, Spoke on resurrection last Sunday. He brought up two points that I believe help us to deal with our mortality. First, he reminded us that the Apostle Paul referred to death as falling asleep (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15), and who is afraid to fall asleep? The second point was that the life we are going to is far better that the life we leave. For one thing, it is eternal. Once we pass from this life, death will never again be an issue.
In our eternal life we will be living in heaven. In heaven we will live a sinless existence. Try to imagine what living without sin would be like. I find it really hard to contemplate. What would it be like living with no sin? The earth and all of creation is tainted by sin. Imagine what the new earth will be like when sin is gone.
For me, when facing mortality, my greatest fear is what if my wife should go before me. How would I be able to survive such a loss? We are true soul mates, partners for the last 34 years. But, notice that the concern is for me. She will have gained. She will be with Jesus. Her time in a sinful world will be over. She’ll have arrived in eternity. She will be home, her work will be done.
So, in looking at mortality, I find there is much to rejoice about. The future is only going to get better for those who belong to him. Christians live by faith not by sight. All we know now is this world, but through faith, we believe that God has prepared us an eternal place. The greatest truth in our mortality is that we will be with him forever.
(If you don’t know him, he’s just a prayer away.)
*Eric Nelson is pastor of Delta Life Four Square Church in Madera, California. Hear his sermons at deltalifechurch.com
My normal writing day each week is Tuesday. However, recently I’ve been spending about 12 hours of my Tuesdays babysitting my one year old granddaughter. It’s a lot of fun, but greatly limits the writing time. I did get in about an hour of writing during nap time. Tuesday night, when I got home, I typed into my computer what I’d hand written during the day. Wednesday morning I had some time before work, so I sat down to look over what I’d written. It was very rough, but I added to it with the intent of polishing it up on Thursday morning before work. When I looked at it on Thursday, I realized it said nothing. So, I asked myself, “What are you trying to say?” Myself responded, “I don’t know.”
Now it’s Friday morning, and here I sit trying to make some sense out of this mess. What I think I’m trying to say is that Jesus’ life here on earth was an example of what to expect as a committed Christian. For Jesus it wasn’t about riches or ownership. The life he led had a single purpose. He set about accomplishing the will of God. I believe that for all who have surrendered their life to him the same is true. Each of us has a purpose, and that is to fulfill God’s will in the life he’s given us. Each of us has an important place in God’s eternal plan.
Well there you have it. That’s what I was trying to say. You wouldn’t believe what this looked like on Thursday morning. However, I’ve obviously raised the important question of what is God’s will for me. Only he can answer that. Just ask him to show you. You’re probably already in his plan. I discovered this week, that though I planned to write on Tuesdays, I’m right in God’s will when babysitting my granddaughter. The writing will come.
If you truly love someone you will treat them well. You will honor them, and you will certainly not murder them. You will not cheat on them, steal from them, lie about them, or covet what they have. At least, if you love them, you will surely try.
To pull this off you’ll have to be patient, kind, not envious, and not work to look more important than the person you love. I can’t imagine that you’d be rude to them or easily angered by them. When they‘ve wronged you, you’d forgive and forget. You’d protect them, trust them, and hope the best for them.
You may have guessed that what I’ve done here is to connect the Ten Commandments and Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. The Ten Commandments are not just rules to contain us, they are truly about love. The first four commandments are about loving God. The other six are about loving each other. You cannot adhere to the Ten Commandments without love. As a matter of fact, if you don’t love God or your fellow humans, why would you even try to adhere to the Ten Commandments?
Jesus summed it up this way: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” “This is the first and greatest commandment.” “And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) There you have it. Love is at the root of what God commands. Love as well as you can, and ask God to increase the love in your heart.
In the Bible the word heart obviously refer to something other than the muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies. So, what is the Bible referring to? It’s not our soul because we are told to love the Lord with all our heart and soul; therefore, the two are separate. As I have searched through the scriptures, it seems that the heart embodies the deep inner self where emotions, moral values, and our decision making process resides. In essence, the heart is where we live.
I’ve been concerned about what is in my heart. Jesus said that what comes out of a man’s heart can make him unclean. I find that what comes out of my heart is a mixed bag. There is in my heart the potential of both good and evil. So, what can I do about this?
Paul prayed for the Ephesians: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith….” (Ephesians 3:16-17). I need to be strengthened in my inner being. I need God’s power to overcome the evil things in my heart, so the things that “come out” of me will be good things.
In Psalm 51 David asks God to create in him a pure heart. (Psalm 51:10) I join with David in this prayer. My deep inner being, my heart, needs the presence and the power of God if it is to be good. God alone is good. Goodness comes from me when I am full of God.
“Create in me a pure heart most generous and merciful God”. “Draw me closer to you that I may reflect your goodness.” Amen!
A young man stumbled down the path to the village square. He stopped to rest at the well and then collapsed. The villagers gathered to see the stranger, but were hesitant to approach for he appeared to be sickly. His body was dirty and emaciated. Mrs. Murphy, who was never hindered by indecision, strode through the crowd right up to the boy. After ascertaining that he was alive, she instructed several of the men to carry him to her cottage. There they laid him on a cot in her den while Mrs. Murphy went to the kitchen to warm the lad some broth.
The boy regained consciousness enough to drink the warm fluid, and throughout the night Mrs. Murphy stirred him with more broth, and then let him return to sleep. By morning the young stranger had recovered somewhat.
“What’s your name?” asked the town constable who had arrived early to look into the matter.
“William Morgan,” the boy replied.
“Well, William Morgan, what brings you to our village?”
“I’m on a quest to find my parents,” the lad said with unquestionable sincerity. “I awoke one morning, and they were gone. I searched everywhere, but I could not find them. Finally, I set off to search for them, but I have yet to find them.”
Just then the constable’s assistant interrupted, “A dispatch came in some months ago from Broaden Flats.” “It said that a Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were looking for their lost son.” “He disappeared one morning while they were out walking.”
“Broaden Flats is where I’m from!” cried William.
When on a quest searching for God, just remember that he’s right there. He hasn’t gone anywhere. He’s waiting for you.
In Psalm 139, David expresses his understanding of the intimate way that God knows him. God knows his thoughts, his location, his habits, and what he is going to say before he says it. Nothing about David is hidden from God. He cares for David and guards over him. I believe David’s insight about his relationship with God reveals truth for us all. Hebrews 4: 13 reminds us that, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight”. Therefore, God knows our thoughts, our location, our habits, and what we are going to say before we say it. As you think about this, how do you respond?
David’s response to these thoughts is precious. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain”. I believe David was overwhelmed by the idea that the creator of the universe paid that much attention to the details of his life. I am also stunned, if you will, that the creator of the universe pays that much attention to me. He also pays that much attention to you.
As I contemplated the knowledge that God knows me this intimately, I sought a proper response. I finally decided that I should seek to know more about him. I remembered that Jesus said, “Seek and you will find.” With Jesus’ words to insure success, I am seeking to know more about God. We often sing in our worship songs, “I want to know you more”. Well, here I go.
David, at the end of a life of seeking God, told his son Solomon:
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with whole hearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
The advice of David, the man after God’s own heart, is to serve and seek the true God with the assurance that he will be found. I’d like to know him more. Won’t you joint me in this quest?
One of my favorite passages of scripture is Colossians 1: 15-17. In this passage Paul gives us an insight into who Jesus really is. He writes:
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
The last statement, “in him all things hold together,” always intrigues me. When considering atoms, the invisible building blocks of the whole universe, the question has always been what holds an atom together? Perhaps the answer is Jesus. And, of course, I have had to ask myself, what would happen if he let go? Well, the reality is that Jesus holds all things together, whatever that actually means, and this points to the ultimate power of our savior. The one who humbled himself and came to earth in human form is the all-powerful Creator God.
Sharing about this scripture shines light on how ridiculous were the struggles I shared about in last week’s post. Jesus is God in the fullest sense. He has been given complete authority over all things. He is the supreme ruler over all of creation. What he did for us shows his amazing character, and warrants him eternal praise and thanksgiving.
Reading the Gospels became really difficult for me several years ago. Jesus’ words seemed harsh and prideful even arrogant. What? You may ask yourself. Well, please bear with me. You know that confession is good for the soul. Yes, I found myself avoiding the Gospels for they were troublesome to me. Finally, for I am slow to get around to dealing with spiritual problems, I asked the Holy Spirit for help. The answer to my dilemma was, as it usually is, simple.
I was reading the words of Jesus with the mindset that he is just a man. I was judging him based on the idea that these are the words of a man. Man capable of sin if you will. Wow, this sounds horrible doesn’t it, yet that is where I was. First, the Holly Spirit reminded me that Jesus is wholly God. He is also wholly man, but he is without sin. If Jesus had sinned, salvation would not have been possible. Through these clarifying reminders, the Spirit led me to a place of repentance.
I now read the Gospels with enthusiasm and delight. My mindset is that of walking beside my God as he speaks. I was walking in pride with my judgments, and it blinded me. Praise be to God for his great mercy and deliverance.
There are still words and situations in the Gospels that I don’t understand. But who fully understands God? I understand that God’s ways are not my ways, and his thoughts are not my thoughts (see Isaiah 55:8&9). So, when I don’t understand, that’s when trust comes in. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Psalm 25:10 says, all the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. I believe the Lord is loving and faithful, so therefore I am now comforted by the words of Jesus.
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