Worship Song Sunday -- Come to the Cross, by Michael W. Smith

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." ~ Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

At the request of someone who is special to me, I am resurrecting Worship Song Sunday.  In our church service this morning, the message was about the cross of Christ -- how the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians spoke of boasting in the cross, and what a scandalous concept it was for the Jews to wrap their brains around, since the cross was considered a device of torture and a murder weapon. To the Jews, being hung on a cross meant you had fallen under God's judgement.

Yet to followers of Jesus Christ, the cross is a symbol of freedom....freedom from death, freedom from God's wrath because of our sins.  

Only The Cross, by Ron DiCianni

Jesus's death on a cross -- a wooden, rugged, scandalous cross -- has set us free!

Hallelujah!!! 
Everyone, everyone can come to the cross!
It doesn't matter what you've done,
Everyone can come to the cross! 

Father, Forgive Them....

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.  But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”’  ~ Luke 23:33-34

Judging from the low amount of page views my previous post received, I’m thinking that forgiveness doesn’t rank very high among the Top 40 popular, Must Read blog post topics (If you missed it, please CLICK HERE to read 'Forgiveness'). 

I can understand why.  Like politics and religion, forgiveness can be a touchy, volatile subject.  Truth be told, most people would not only rather avoid thinking and talking about forgiveness, but more than likely would rather refrain from initiating and acting upon it as well.

Because forgiving one another is hard. REALLY hard. Not just for the small annoyances in life, but for those over-the-top, ‘how could anyone do something like this?!’ things, too.  Things that seem almost impossible to forgive.

I don’t have to remind anyone reading here that there are A LOT of thoughtless, cruel, heartless people in this world. From liars, thieves, drunk/drugged drivers, embezzlers, adulterous spouses to murderers, rapists, pedophiles, sexual predators, etc., there are people who don’t seem to care about the havoc they wreak or the carnage of broken people they leave behind; people who delight in the pain of others, be it physical, emotional or mental pain.  All you have to do is open up your newspaper, turn on your television or radio, power up your computer or simply walk out your front door to be witness to what’s going on in this fallen world.  When we read about an elderly person savagely attacked in their home, or learn of yet another child who’s been kidnapped and found miles away later on, brutally murdered, or we find ourselves the hurting victim of a crime of the body or the heart, forgiveness for the perpetrator isn’t on our minds or in our hearts, is it?  Nope.

Revenge is.

We’d rather see these monsters of society get what’s coming to them.  And if we’re totally honest, deep inside, wouldn’t we all like to get a whack at them ourselves, showing up in courtrooms or jail cells, like those mobs of angry villagers in old movies, brandishing our pitchforks and torches?

But, if we say we are Christians, aren’t we expected to brandish mercy and grace, and to extend forgiveness instead?  And when WE sin, don’t we expect our offenses – no matter what they are -- to be forgiven? Don’t we BEG for God’s mercy and grace to catch us when slip and fall headlong into sin?  Of course we do. I know I do.

Forgiven, by Thomas Blackshear

We can memorize the following Bible verse and gladly declare it and claim it as a ‘life verse:’

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’” ~ Romans 5:8 (NIV). 

But what about committing THIS C.S. Lewis quote to memory and living it out:

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” 

Ouch.

I have to wonder – how did Jesus feel right before He cried out from the cross those mind-boggling words?

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing!”

Did Jesus wrestle with forgiving His haters, His betrayers, His murderers, much as He did in the garden at Gethsemane, struggling in anguished prayer to do His Father’s will and accept the overwhelming cup He’d been offered? He very well may have, but we have no way of knowing, since there is no record in the Bible of this particular wrestling match between the human and the Divine sides of Jesus in that instance.

To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.  In me. If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, could do the unthinkable and ask forgiveness for the very people who despised Him, who betrayed Him, who mocked, beat and tormented Him, and nailed Him onto a wooden cross – WHILE He was hanging on that cross, close to breathing His final breath, and DYING FOR THEIR SINS AND OURS – can we do any less?  Can we remember that it’s not us but God Who says, “Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay?” Can we leave the justice and judgment calls up to Him, and just put down our pitchforks and torches…and learn to forgive instead?

It’s not easy, this forgiving of others. Oh, how I know just how difficult it can be!  So please join me next time for some closing thoughts in my final installment (and in case you’re wondering….no, I hadn’t planned on this turning into a mini-series of sorts)!

Forgiveness

"Forgive, and you will be forgiven." ~ Luke 6:37, NIV

Jesus.

He had some pretty hard sayings in His day, didn't He?  Difficult, even radical commands that He asked His followers to obey. Commands that made many wince; commands that caused many to shake their heads in disbelief and rebellion, and to turn and walk away.

Things like, 

"Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you." 

"Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will  save it." 

Today, as followers of Jesus, we come across these hard sayings of His in God's Word, and are asked to obey these same difficult, radical commands. Because, as Jesus told His disciples then and tells us now, 

'If you love Me, obey My commandments.' (John 14:15, NLT) 

One such command of Jesus' was the command to forgive. Indeed, Jesus had some radical things to say about forgiveness.  Things like:

"But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ” ~ Mark 11:25

"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." ~Matthew  6:14-15

When Peter came to Jesus regarding how many times he was required to forgive someone who had sinned against him, he asked Jesus if he should forgive that person 7 times.  The answer?

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!" ~ Matthew 18:21

Is the idea of offering forgiveness easy, or is it harsh or difficult for you? 

Does having to forgive someone, whether the sin was against you personally or against someone else, make you:

• wince?

• angry?

• bitter?

• sick to your stomach?

• shake your head in disbelief and rebellion, and turn and walk away?

I know I have to say a resounding 'Yes' to most of the above. How do you forgive someone who has not only hurt you so deeply you feel tangible pain, but CONTINUES to hurt you over and over and over?  Like on a daily basis. Oh, my dears -- how I have wrestled with this through the years, only to come up empty handed, bruised and exhausted!!

How do you forgive someone who has taken something....or someone....from you? How do you forgive someone who has destroyed your family, your childhood innocence, your marriage, your career, your hopes and dreams, your reputation, your very life? Or someone else's? Again, this has -- and continues to be -- a struggle for me.  How about you?

Yes, I can tell you from experience, 'forgive' is certainly not the 'f' word that's come to my mind or from my lips right out of the gate over the years, after being abused, rejected, mocked, mistreated, lied to, gossiped about or hurt by others.  

But it was for Jesus.  

Father, forgive them......

More to come in my next post. I hope you'll join me for it. 


'This is love, this is hate....we've got a choice to make

Oh -- Father, won't You forgive them?
They don't know what they've been doin' (oh no);

Oh, Father, give me grace to forgive them
'Cause I feel like the one losing......'  ~from Losing, by Tenth Avenue North

When Jesus Says "You Must Follow Me"

Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, “Follow Me!”


Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”


Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me." ~ John 21:18-22, NIV

It was an extremely busy time at our church this morning. Besides our usual three service times, we had baptisms during two of those services, a reception in between to honor and say ‘thank you!’ to a wonderful woman who has served God by teaching our church’s 2-3 year olds in Sunday school classes for over 50 years (can you imagine?) and then a special and very important Congregational Meeting at the end. 


To be honest, I always seem to get anxious whenever there’s a lot scheduled to take place at church -- no doubt a spiritual warfare tactic straight from the enemy of my soul.  Because that anxiety I begin to experience then generally translates into my battling to attend church that day.  Yes, I admit it -- there are times I don’t WANT to go to church (GASP!).  Sometimes, that battle takes place at home; sometimes, it takes place in the parking lot of my church.  Yet, I’ve always found that whenever I choose to respond to Jesus’s still, small voice and the offering of His love and perfect peace over the enemy’s great big mouth and his offering of nothing but chaos and anxiety by walking into the building and taking a seat, I come away blessed beyond measure.   I find there is always some particular, hand crafted message from Him awaiting me somewhere.


Today, I received it through a sermon and the celebration of baptism.


Our pastors wrapped up a sermon series entitled ‘Wake Up!’  This morning’s ‘Wake Up To Purpose’ sermon centered around John 21:18-25, where, after Jesus tells Peter to “Follow Me!”, Peter kind of side-steps the invitation and seems more interested in what’s going to happen to the young disciple John instead.


The message --


That life is about more than just ourselves and what we can gain


That Jesus’s call to “Follow Me” is specifically, tailor-made for each person


To make the decision to listen to and go where Jesus leads us, remembering Who the Leader/Teacher/Lord is and who the follower/disciple/servant is


To relinquish our quest for control, because our life is not our own


To STOP comparing our lives with someone else’s and START following Jesus


-- was distinctly personal and extremely convicting for me (and this was just in the first service!). The sermon was not the only place I heard this message in recent days. I’ve been bombarded by it in songs and two very different books I am currently reading, one fiction and one non-fiction, as well as the Bible itself. 


During the second service, the same Scripture verse was referenced, but our senior pastor shared these three points with us, complete with questions about how this was being lived out in our lives:


Love God
Obey God
Follow God


Do we -- do I -- love God enough to obey Him and follow Him however, whenever and to wherever He leads?  Again, serious questions I’ve been bombarded with again and again recently. 


All this leading up to the baptisms…….


Just for the record -- baptism itself does not save.  I’m sure most of you know this, but for years, I DID NOT know this truth. 

Being baptized is simply an act of obedience to God (Jesus Himself was baptized in the River Jordan by His cousin, John), as well as an outward sign, a public announcement, if you will, to everyone that you have already made a sincere decision AND a heartfelt commitment to follow Jesus.  During baptisms, our pastor has often described it as akin to his wearing a wedding ring, which is an outward sign to the world that he has made a serious life commitment of love to his wife. The ring itself doesn’t make him married -- it’s merely a sign, a public declaration that he ‘belongs’ to someone.


So, choosing to be baptized is a step of obedience and our public declaration that we too ‘belong’ to Someone -- Jesus Christ. It’s an outward sign that reflects the change within us, and symbolic of having our sins cleansed or ‘washed away.’

Our church has held baptism services several times a year for many years, and in our worship folders, the names of those being baptized has always been listed.  Lately, though, that has changed.  While there are always those who have called the church and asked to take part in a particular baptism on a particular date, our pastor has recently begun to open it up to anyone THE DAY OF the baptisms who has made a commitment or a recommitment to love, obey and follow the Lord and who feels moved by Him to come up to the altar and be baptized. 


Today was one such amazing, incredible day.  Young, old and in between came up this morning to be baptized.  Some shared inspiring, touching, tearful testimonies that left many of us weeping tears of joy right along with them, while cheering loudly for them as they came up out of the water. It was something to see and to hear how Jesus had relentlessly pursued them. Even though not all shared their stories, it was obvious to me that each one had heard and heeded the voice of Jesus saying “Come, follow Me!,” and were now showing their love for Him by stepping out in obedience.


One young man really captured my heart and the essence of responding to the call.  His name is Brian, and I’d never seen him nor his girlfriend at church before (our church is rather large and I don’t always stay for both services).  Both stated that neither of them had come to church this morning with the plan of being baptized.  Brian could barely contain himself as he stood behind his girlfriend, watching as she struggled to speak through her tears.  At one point, he covered his face with his hands, weeping.  It was very moving.


When his turn came, he was laughing and crying, shaking as he stood in the water while our pastor held onto him.  The joy on his face was apparent, a reflection of the change that had, at some point, taken place in his heart and in his life.  


And then, Brian spoke the words that pretty much brought down the house.  


When our pastor asked him if he had planned on coming up front and being baptized this morning, Brian said no.  And that really, he had only gotten up during the service just to go to the bathroom, and the next thing he knew, he was up in front of the church, getting ready to be baptized! 


So humorously ironic, isn’t it?  One minute, this guy’s responding to nature’s call.  And then the next minute, he’s responding to Jesus’s call (who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?).  


Hmmm…..so I guess after all of this rambling on, my whole point in feeling lead to share and post this today is for us to realize and remember that Jesus CAN and WILL speak to us even in our most mundane, commonplace moments and very often, in the most unexpected of ways, calling us to follow Him in loving obedience


However
Whenever
And to wherever He leads.

We need to STOP comparing ourselves with everyone else. We need to STOP worrying about what He’s doing with our brother, our sister, our friend, our neighbor or our coworker. Basically, what is that to us?  


It should be nothing to us. 


Because Jesus says: “YOU must follow Me.”

I have decided

To follow Jesus

I have decided

To follow Jesus

I have decided

To follow Jesus

No turning back,

No turning back.....

To Fast Or Not To Fast

And so the Lord says, 
      “These people say they are Mine. 
   They honor Me with their lips, 
      but their hearts are far from Me. 
   And their worship of Me 
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. ~ Isaiah 29:13, NLT


Yesterday, I posted about the upcoming Lenten season and what I understood -- or more like misunderstood -- it to be.  I had such a warped vision of what God expected of me during this season.  Or perhaps it's better said, what God desired from me.


With regards to fasting,  I’ve come to realize over the years that this is not something to ever be entered into lightly or done mindlessly or out of guilt, fear, ritual or pressure. Lenten fasting -- or any other type of Christian fasting -- should never be viewed by me or by anyone else as just some church denomination’s ancient ritual, nor should we, as I once heard in a sermon, make ourselves into miserable people observing a miserable tradition.  


Instead, we should see Lent as a reordering and a ‘spring cleaning,’ if you will, of our lives. It’s a challenge and an acknowledgment that we are not yet what we are to be; a preparation for our ultimate transformation as followers of Christ, as well as a very personal offering and intimate act of love and worship between ourselves and the Lord.  

God wants my heart!!

I'm learning it's less about tradition and a sense of duty and more about my motive; more about my having a sincere, heart's desire to become more open to God's presence and my ears more attuned to His voice; more about drawing nearer to and becoming more intimate with God as a result of my putting aside those things that I often crave more than Him.  


And just what ARE those things that I crave and desire more than God?

A few years ago, while in one of my ugly self-righteous, Pharisee modes, I found myself looking at giving up things for Lent like chocolate, coffee, junk food, etc., as lame.  Kind of dumb and childish. Like, 'Gee, does God REALLY care whether or not I eat this 3 Musketeers bar? Why deny myself such a little thing?  And hey, isn't self-denial a form of punishment anyway?'  


But I recently came across a quote, again from the Lynne Baab book, 'Fasting,' from a 30 something teacher named Lisa whom Baab interviewed.  She said this:


"Denying myself something that I use for comfort is a great reminder of my desire to keep my relationship with God as my first and foremost priority.  Fasting challenges me to keep a perspective of Who I'm living for at all times of the day."  


Wow.  Speaking strictly for myself, I too often do use chocolate, coffee, junk food for comfort.  When I should be seeking comfort from God.  I'll admit I'm guilty of using Facebook to seek validation and relevance for myself from other people.  When I should be seeking those things  from God.  Because my relationship with Him is to be my foremost priority in life. Because He is my First Love.


So, when I choose to fast or abstain or however you want to refer to it, from something -- be it a particular food or drink or sweets; an activity, routine or a habitual indulgence - I do so NOT to prove to myself and everyone around me that I am strong enough to deny myself and make this 'great' sacrifice; I do so NOT to punish myself for some 'bad behavior' and  certainly not with the mindset that I can force God to give me or do something I want. 


No, when I fast, it should be out of a desire to greatly lower the volume on the constant noise around me and to remove the continuous distractions in my life, enabling me to spend more time talking with AND listening to God throughout my day (and really, that's what prayer is), allowing for that greater, more intimate relationship with Him.  And when I do fast from something, especially if it is from a meal, be it once or twice a week or even one particular meal a day, I need to utilize the time I'd spend eating or doing that activity by spending that time alone with God.  Because if I don't, it's just meaningless.  


So, some of the deeper, pertinent questions I’ve been asking myself lately have been:

* What have I firmly placed in top priority status, thereby knocking Jesus out of first place in my life?
  
*What things (foods, drinks, material possessions, body image,) do I obsess over? What activities (working out, blogging, shopping), what distractions (Facebook, Internet surfing, TV shows) and what desires (need for praise, approval, acknowledgment, love) have I allowed to totally consume me and to stand in the way of my daily communication with Jesus?   


*What idols need to be cast down completely or at least brought way down to the bottom of the totem pole status?

*What sins have I allowed to continually trip me up and entangle me and ruin my relationship with the Lord, breaking His heart and grieving His Spirit? What do I need to repent of?

*How best can I honor Christ with my life during these next 40 days?  What do I need to be doing or refrain from doing? 


Right now, I'm still praying about all of this.  


The Word of God tells me there is so much more to this challenge of Lent in Isaiah 1:11-15; in Isaiah 58:6-14 (and OH what a magnificent portion of Scripture this is!); in Psalm 51:10-12 & 16-17; in Joel 2:13; and finally, in Hebrews 13:15-16. As He always has, God longs for us to be in a loving relationship with Him, to love and be loved by Him.  

While the season of Lent is considered to be a somber, more serious time of preparation than Advent, it can also be a blessed, joyful time of intentionally seeking out Jesus, embarking on a journey to befriend or strengthen our relationship with the living Christ.  May it be so for you, should you choose to partake.


'Fasting has every bit as much to do with the attitude of the heart as it does to what is actually given up in the fast.' ~ from 'Fasting,' by Lynne M. Baab