Lessons from Job

We normally think of Job when we think of difficult circumstances in our lives that we would rather not go through.  I have found however, that Job is a good reminder even when things are going well.  I particularly relate to chapter 42:1-3

"Then Job answered the Lord and said, 'I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.  'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' 'Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.'" (NASB)

I read this verse and it humbles me.  The first statement is a statement of authority - Job knows that God can do all things.  There is nothing that can tell God what he should or should not do.  God is bound solely by the nature of His own character.  God is in charge.  He can do whatever He wants.  He is God and I am not.  I cannot do all things.  I can only do a limited amount of things - most of which should be the things that He commands me to do. 

The second statement is a statement of control - nothing that God purposes can be thwarted!  Nothing that God sets His mind to do can be avoided!  If God promises something, it will be accomplished.  This is a statement that brings great hope, even when what God is allowing may not be pleasant because it means that all that God has promised will come true. 

The third part of these verses is essentially a statement of the humility required when we face a God of this nature.  We must come into His presence with the understand that we know nothing in comparison to that which He knows, and that which we do know we know only because He has chosen to allow us to know it.  Deep thoughts, right.  

And yet in spite of the truth of these verses I so often come before God telling Him how He should run not just my life but the lives of all of those around me as well.   How foolish of me.  And that is why these verses are a good reminder - if only to help me avoid my own foolish thoughts!

Why is Good Friday Good?

When I was a youngster (farther ago than I would care to admit), I always wondered why they called Good Friday good.  It is easy to understand why they might call Resurrection Sunday good. The resurrection after all seems to be the best news for Christians ever.   Good Friday seemed to me to be the means used to get to the good stuff - the resurrection.  But the more that I grew in Christ and read Scripture, the more that I began to understand that while the resurrection indeed in many respects the moment that all of the life of Christ was verified to be all that Christ said it was, there was still value in the moment that Christ died. 

There is no better text to exemplify this than Hebrews 10:19-25.  I will suffice for the purposes of this blog to quote only verse 19.

"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus. . . " (NASB)

The sacrifice of the life of Christ on Good Friday gives you and I something that we would not have otherwise.  Something even the resurrection by itself could not give us.  It gives us confidence to approach God.  It is quite significant that in the narrative on the crucifixion that the veil of the temple was torn in two.  (Luke 23:45).  The death of Christ on the cross was the moment that the barrier caused by sin between God and man was eliminated.  ELIMINATED.  But only through the blood of Christ.

You and I and all of our friends and neighbors and co-workers and family can all have unmitigated access to God through the blood of Christ.  But here is the "catch".  The unmitigated access only happens through the blood of Christ.  You cannot earn it through good works.  You cannot earn it by going to church every day.  You cannot earn access by being a genuine person who tries to do your best.  It only is granted by and through the blood of Christ. 

May I encourage you today to remember this weekend is truly a good weekend because of the death and the life of Christ.  Do not rush past the cross to get to Easter, for it is the cross that earns us the access to God that we desperately need and desire.  In the words of the song, "Thank you for the Cross Lord, thank you for the life you gave." 

Sad Reminders of Sin's Presence

When we think of life on this earth, for most of us, it is a rather good experience.  Most of us do not struggle with real hunger.  Most of us do not struggle with a daily fight for our lives.  Some do, and around the world, there are many to face a very difficult life.  But if I am being honest, my life here in the USA is really quite good.  Which is why it is so hard to face the reality of life when it gets hard to explain.  This week the city where we live there was a young lady who took her own life.  When events like this happen, our world is a little shaken.  Our pristine utopia that we though our lives were is suddenly darkened by a sharp reminder that evil still has sway in the world in which we live.  And while we know that Christ has conquered death, when death occurs it still feels so unnatural and foreign.  In light of the tragedy of this week, I want to offer a few truths that help me focus and help me manage the grief and sometimes terror that I face.

1. God sent His Son precisely because the world was a dark place. 
God did not send his Son because we were good people going a slightly wrong direction.  He sent His Son because we needed complete and total transformation.  We were dead and needed to be made alive.

2.  God sent His Son to save us.
God chose to take this dark and sin cursed world in which we live and redeem those of us who are willing to place our faith and trust in Christ and what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross.  None of us deserve it.  All of us were under just condemnation, but because of His mercy He died to save us.  And his salvation is available to all.  No matter what our life situation, God sent His Son to save you.  And this salvation that He graciously offers is free.

3. God left us here to remind others that they too need a Savior.
God does not save us and then remove us from the world because in His mercy, there are still more people who might respond to the gospel message.  The tragedy that we face in our lives is a stark reminder of the haste with which we must share the gospel.  People are not guaranteed tomorrow and so I had better not wait until tomorrow to begin building relationships with people who need the Lord.  The time is now because Christ's return is imminent. 

4. God is sending His Son again to take us home.
We will very soon be seeing Jesus face to face and basking in the glory of eternity with Him.  This is where our hope lies.  But this hope does not excuse me from my need to share the gospel.  I must always temper my excitement about eternity with the reminder that I am not there yet and while God leaves me here, I am here for a purpose! 

As Christians, we have a hope in the midst of hardship that we can only have because of Christ.  We should praise Him and thank Him, and then go and share that glorious news with the world!

God is a Winner

This week in Sunday School we discussed something that is critical in our understanding as a Christian.  God wins.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of this fact because we live in a increasingly dark age that reminds us more of the world before Noah than of any world in which Christ is victor.   Sometimes we focus on this in our discussion of the future and we look forward to the day when God wins.  But even this is slightly erroneous.  We certainly are to look forward to the day that God finishes His work and His victory is completed, but all the talk of the future leads us away from the truth that God has already won.

Christ's death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection were victory.  They were victory over sin, they were victory over death, they were victory over Satan.  Paul reminds us of this truth in 1 Corinthians 15, culminating in verse 57, ". . .but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  (NASB)  God has already won and he is already sharing this victory with His children.  You and I have victory.  Today.  In this moment.  When we feel defeated.  When we are down.  When we feel useless and helpless, victory has already been won.  And because God is a winner, we are winners too. 

It is hard to feel like a winner sometimes, and even harder to know what to do.  Which is why I am so glad that Paul continues his thought and tells us how winners behave.  Real winners.  Not just people who call themselves winners.  Real winners he says are steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.  In other words, real winners keep serving Jesus because they know that serving Jesus is the ultimate way to victory.  The ultimate victor aligns himself or herself with the King who has already achieved the victory.  This is a no brainer if we can get ourselves to understand the victory that Jesus has already won. 

So consider this today.  No matter what you face.  No matter what your tomorrow holds.  If you have Jesus, than you are already victorious.  And that is reason to rejoice!

Funny

I sometimes just need a break from the seriousness of life and a good laugh.  In moments like these I love to hear good jokes.  And church jokes are particularly funny to me.  So today, I wanted to simply tell a few jokes and hope that perhaps you will post your own in the comments below.  Lets have some fun and laugh today!  For full disclosure, I am a Baptist pastor. 

How many members of a Baptist church does it take to screw in a light bulb? 

A - All of them.  A committee to decide on the light.  A committee to pick the ladder.  A committee to evaluate the selections of the previous committees.  And the rest of the church to tell them how wrong they got it!

You might be a Baptist if:

You clapped in church last Sunday and felt guilty about it all week.
You think someone who says "amen" while the Pastor is preaching could be a charismatic.
You believe you need to take a covered dish to heaven when you die.

A pastor is standing by the side of a road holding up 
a sign that reads “The end is near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”
A passing driver yells, “You are nuts!” and speeds past him. From around the curve, he hears screeching tires—then a big splash.
The  pastor bends over and writes ‘Bridge Out’ instead.

Now is your chance.  Share your own jokes in the comments below. 

And have a laughter filled day.