This year, I am approaching a milestone in my life…for in about 60 days, I will be celebrating my 60th year on earth….as I said, it seems like a milestone to me. But, for many others; older, younger, wiser, smarter or any where in between, they too, are approaching a milestone…often with fear and trepidation.
That mindset deserves closer scrutiny ….how are we to face and deal with the pleasant and not so pleasant milestones in our lives? We are to remember WHERE we have been, WHAT has happened to us in our life journey and WHO has been our ever faithful guide.
God tells us that He remembers and that He promised in His covenant to keep us safe …just look in the story of Noah. After the flood, after the waters receded and the ground dried up, Noah and his family stepped out of the ark with God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. God said, “I have established my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And as He continues He says, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and for all future generations. I have set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:12-13
It is what God reveals next that helps us to see the true heart of our Creator…”When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I WILL REMEMBER MY COVENANT that is between me and you and every living creature. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When I see the bow in the clouds, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature that is on the earth.” Genesis 9:14-16
Isn’t is good to know that God remembers and keeps His covenant with His creation?
Every time clouds gather and a storm appears on the horizon, God sees a tiny rainbow form and He is reminded of His promise to us…to hold back the torrential rains so the floods don’t come and once again, we are spared from His anger toward our sinful nature.
I think we should be more like God when it comes to the milestones in our lives…especially the ones that bring about fear, uncertainty and stress. We should remember to whom we belong….what He has done in the past and… what He is able to do in our uncertain future. We should remember His great love, his abiding favor in the presence of the Holy Spirit and His unwavering desire to make all things work out for our good.
How easily we often forget what God has done in our past….maybe, we need to find a sign that will always remind us of His abundant love and His ultimate sacrifice…maybe, all we need do is look to the hill of Calvary and see that old rugged cross….and remember the covenant that He has made through the shed blood of His only Son.
God has promised that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He has raised Him from the dead, we are saved….just remember that the next time you approach a milestone and you are anxious in your spirit….remember that you belong to Him ….that no one nor nothing can snatch you from the Father’s hand…
Remember… just as your Heavenly Father remembers….and you will find a peace that triumphs whatever trial or milestone is set before you…
Remembering ….and rejoicing in His promises,
WPQ
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
No Greater Love
AND NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY….as Dr. Alexander Metherell continues,
Once a person is hanging on the cross in the vertical position, crucifixion is an agonizing slow death by asphyxiation. The stresses that are placed on the muscles and the diaphragm in the inhaled position are acute; one, literally, must push up on his feet so the tension in the muscles is eased for a moment, allowing him to exhale. Each rise and fall upon the nail causes the flesh to tear in the foot until it eventually locks against the tarsal bone. Each breath was labored and exhaustive as Christ would scrape his bloodied back against the rough, coarse wood of the cross. As his breathing slowed, a medical condition known as respiratory acidosis occurs…carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid which causes an irregular heartbeat. This faint, but irregular heartbeat, would have been known by Jesus and He would have known the very minute of his death before he uttered, “Lord, into Thy Hands I commit my Spirit.” Death would have been sure, but not to a Roman guard. So, upon examination, the soldier took a spear and thrust it in his side, between his ribs, through his lung and into his heart.
A spear thrust into the heart of God….because of me. All that has been described is because of ME....MY SIN…MY SHAME ….MY FAILURES…CHRIST TOOK MY PLACE.
That cross was meant for me …and you. Each labored breath, as Christ rose upon that nail, had the weight of the sin of the world on his shoulders…..YOUR SIN AND MINE. He did not have to die; rather He chose to take my place. At any moment, he could have spoken just one word….COME, and the entire heavenly host would have left the glories of heaven in a mass assault against the darkness and evil of that crucifixion. But, he did not cry out for the angels. He would rather have endured the torture and the shame of that cross than to spend eternity without you and me. He spoke but one phrase that resounded throughout the heavenly realm…..IT IS FINISHED !!!!
He gave His life to pay a debt He did not owe and now the torture, the pain, the suffering of the Crucifixion matters not at all …if you and I fail to accept what Christ did to claim us as His own. Do you belong to Him or was His death wasted on you? Was the pain of this horrific event just a bad story in the history of the world or does it have a personal significance to you? Do you know my Jesus of the Cross or are you just too prideful to admit that you need a Savior?
Yes, even in that Upper Room, Christ knew what awaited him in the hours just ahead...and rather than turn away from the will of His Father, he turned toward his own death...even death on a Roman Cross. Today, do not turn away from Him and His sacrificial gift of eternal life...rather turn into His loving arms and know the joy of salvation.
For each of us the work has been done…it is finished….and now, the Christ of Calvary is RISEN...awaiting your invitation to make Him your Lord and Savior....
Is He Alive in You Today?…..if not, let’s talk …the sooner, the better.
Blessed ….Because of the Cross,
WPQ
Once a person is hanging on the cross in the vertical position, crucifixion is an agonizing slow death by asphyxiation. The stresses that are placed on the muscles and the diaphragm in the inhaled position are acute; one, literally, must push up on his feet so the tension in the muscles is eased for a moment, allowing him to exhale. Each rise and fall upon the nail causes the flesh to tear in the foot until it eventually locks against the tarsal bone. Each breath was labored and exhaustive as Christ would scrape his bloodied back against the rough, coarse wood of the cross. As his breathing slowed, a medical condition known as respiratory acidosis occurs…carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid which causes an irregular heartbeat. This faint, but irregular heartbeat, would have been known by Jesus and He would have known the very minute of his death before he uttered, “Lord, into Thy Hands I commit my Spirit.” Death would have been sure, but not to a Roman guard. So, upon examination, the soldier took a spear and thrust it in his side, between his ribs, through his lung and into his heart.
A spear thrust into the heart of God….because of me. All that has been described is because of ME....MY SIN…MY SHAME ….MY FAILURES…CHRIST TOOK MY PLACE.
That cross was meant for me …and you. Each labored breath, as Christ rose upon that nail, had the weight of the sin of the world on his shoulders…..YOUR SIN AND MINE. He did not have to die; rather He chose to take my place. At any moment, he could have spoken just one word….COME, and the entire heavenly host would have left the glories of heaven in a mass assault against the darkness and evil of that crucifixion. But, he did not cry out for the angels. He would rather have endured the torture and the shame of that cross than to spend eternity without you and me. He spoke but one phrase that resounded throughout the heavenly realm…..IT IS FINISHED !!!!
He gave His life to pay a debt He did not owe and now the torture, the pain, the suffering of the Crucifixion matters not at all …if you and I fail to accept what Christ did to claim us as His own. Do you belong to Him or was His death wasted on you? Was the pain of this horrific event just a bad story in the history of the world or does it have a personal significance to you? Do you know my Jesus of the Cross or are you just too prideful to admit that you need a Savior?
Yes, even in that Upper Room, Christ knew what awaited him in the hours just ahead...and rather than turn away from the will of His Father, he turned toward his own death...even death on a Roman Cross. Today, do not turn away from Him and His sacrificial gift of eternal life...rather turn into His loving arms and know the joy of salvation.
For each of us the work has been done…it is finished….and now, the Christ of Calvary is RISEN...awaiting your invitation to make Him your Lord and Savior....
Is He Alive in You Today?…..if not, let’s talk …the sooner, the better.
Blessed ….Because of the Cross,
WPQ
Monday, June 8, 2009
In Rememberance of Me
As I sat in my pew yesterday, awaiting the pastor remark’s regarding the observance of the Lord’s Supper, I began to think of that evening ….as the disciples sat and reclined around the table….I pictured each of them as Christ took the bread; blest it and broke it and gave it to them …as He said’ “take and eat, for this is my body that is broken for you.” Then, He took the cup and likewise gave thanks…then He told them to drink all of it, “For this is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Each symbol of this Last Supper was the foreshadowing of the things to come….the torture; the pain and agony of the beatings; the thorns on His brow….the shedding of His blood as the spikes pierced His flesh….and I was once more reminded of the book by Lee Strosbel and the poignant examination of the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…..what follows is from Salt & Light last July….after my experience yesterday, it bears repeating for us one and all….
I just finished reading Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ…a legal journalist’s personal investigation of the evidence for Jesus. I read it all with a great hunger to see how he would treat the historical and empirical evidence regarding Christ. It is a compelling read, a must for every believer….not to bring you to faith, but to give greater clarity to what you already believe.
One chapter really tore me up….it dealt with the medical evidence regarding the torture and crucifixion of my Lord. I was NOT prepared for the insight of this chapter and the vivid picture that was indelibly imprinted in my heart and soul. The expert, Dr. Alexander Metherell, shared the weight of his medical and scientific credentials to set aside any thought that somehow the crucifixion of Christ was a staged event…that He swooned upon the cross, was pronounced dead and then was revived after he was taken down from the cross and put in a cool tomb.
As I read the following, I came to the stark realization of what Christ endured upon the cross so that I might be saved…
The torture before the cross is enough to kill most men, thirty-nine lashes or more depending on the mood of the soldier. The beating began at the shoulders, down the back, the buttocks and the legs; each lash with this braided leather thong embedded with metal balls and chards of bone literally ripping the flesh away, exposing bones, muscles, veins and often vital organs. The prisoner enters hypovolemic shock often fainting and dying from massive blood loss. Christ, already at the point of exhaustion and collapse, was in serious to critical condition, but he did not succumb to death (we have the written text regarding the Crucifixion). The soldiers would have laid Christ on a horizontal beam and nailed a 5-7 inch spike into each wrist just below the palm…to have nailed it into his palm would have been futile… his weight would have torn the skin and he would fallen from the cross. The Romans knew the nature of this business all too well.
The pain from this action would have been UNBEARABLE. Imagine, if you can, that feeling of pain that you get when you hit the ulna nerve (your funny bone). It’s extremely painful when you bang your elbow, even if only a glancing blow. What if someone could grab that nerve with a pair of pliers and squeeze and twist without letting go…the effect would be similar to what Jesus endured. In fact, the pain was so unbearable that there was literally no word to describe it; they had to invent a new word…. EXCRUCIATING, meaning, “Out of the Cross”.
Think on that for just a moment if you can…the pain that Christ endured on the cross for you and for me was so unbearable, so life-devastating, so beyond words….that they had to create a word that would somehow capture the intense anguish and pain caused during the crucifixion….
THEN….Jesus was hoisted on the crossbar to be attached to the vertical stake having his feet nailed in the same manner, crushing and impaling the nerves in his feet. The weight of his body would have immediately pulled and stretched his arms, probably six inches in length and would have dislocated his shoulders…now death by asphyxiation had begun….
Tomorrow, we’ll examine the rest of the story… and how it impacts you and me.
Humbled by His Grace,
WPQ
Each symbol of this Last Supper was the foreshadowing of the things to come….the torture; the pain and agony of the beatings; the thorns on His brow….the shedding of His blood as the spikes pierced His flesh….and I was once more reminded of the book by Lee Strosbel and the poignant examination of the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…..what follows is from Salt & Light last July….after my experience yesterday, it bears repeating for us one and all….
I just finished reading Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ…a legal journalist’s personal investigation of the evidence for Jesus. I read it all with a great hunger to see how he would treat the historical and empirical evidence regarding Christ. It is a compelling read, a must for every believer….not to bring you to faith, but to give greater clarity to what you already believe.
One chapter really tore me up….it dealt with the medical evidence regarding the torture and crucifixion of my Lord. I was NOT prepared for the insight of this chapter and the vivid picture that was indelibly imprinted in my heart and soul. The expert, Dr. Alexander Metherell, shared the weight of his medical and scientific credentials to set aside any thought that somehow the crucifixion of Christ was a staged event…that He swooned upon the cross, was pronounced dead and then was revived after he was taken down from the cross and put in a cool tomb.
As I read the following, I came to the stark realization of what Christ endured upon the cross so that I might be saved…
The torture before the cross is enough to kill most men, thirty-nine lashes or more depending on the mood of the soldier. The beating began at the shoulders, down the back, the buttocks and the legs; each lash with this braided leather thong embedded with metal balls and chards of bone literally ripping the flesh away, exposing bones, muscles, veins and often vital organs. The prisoner enters hypovolemic shock often fainting and dying from massive blood loss. Christ, already at the point of exhaustion and collapse, was in serious to critical condition, but he did not succumb to death (we have the written text regarding the Crucifixion). The soldiers would have laid Christ on a horizontal beam and nailed a 5-7 inch spike into each wrist just below the palm…to have nailed it into his palm would have been futile… his weight would have torn the skin and he would fallen from the cross. The Romans knew the nature of this business all too well.
The pain from this action would have been UNBEARABLE. Imagine, if you can, that feeling of pain that you get when you hit the ulna nerve (your funny bone). It’s extremely painful when you bang your elbow, even if only a glancing blow. What if someone could grab that nerve with a pair of pliers and squeeze and twist without letting go…the effect would be similar to what Jesus endured. In fact, the pain was so unbearable that there was literally no word to describe it; they had to invent a new word…. EXCRUCIATING, meaning, “Out of the Cross”.
Think on that for just a moment if you can…the pain that Christ endured on the cross for you and for me was so unbearable, so life-devastating, so beyond words….that they had to create a word that would somehow capture the intense anguish and pain caused during the crucifixion….
THEN….Jesus was hoisted on the crossbar to be attached to the vertical stake having his feet nailed in the same manner, crushing and impaling the nerves in his feet. The weight of his body would have immediately pulled and stretched his arms, probably six inches in length and would have dislocated his shoulders…now death by asphyxiation had begun….
Tomorrow, we’ll examine the rest of the story… and how it impacts you and me.
Humbled by His Grace,
WPQ
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
What Kind of Friend Are You?
I was cleaning out some old emails yesterday when I ran across this story of friendship. As I began to read, I felt the bow of compassion pass across the strings of my heart and I was reminded of what Jesus taught regarding friendship….I hope that your heart will be equally moved today as you consider….What Kind of Friend Am I?
One day, during my freshman year, as I was walking home from school, I saw a kid from my class walking just ahead. His name was Kyle.
I looked and saw that he was carrying all of his books; and I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."
I was lost in my own thoughts as I began to think of the fun that I had planned for the weekend, what with the parties, football game and such with my friends. Kyle’s plight as a nerd seemed inconsequential, so I shrugged my shoulders and went on my merry way. Out of the blue, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They quickly surrounded him, pushing him to the ground, knocking all his books out of his arms….he lay sprawled in the dirt face down; then they ran off, laughing and calling him names as they sprinted away. The force of their pushing and shoving had sent Kyle’s glasses flying through the air and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. When he finally looked up, I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes….My heart went out to him, so I jogged over to him and as he feverishly searched for his glasses, I saw a tears forming in his eyes. I reached down, picked up his glasses and handed them to him and said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.”
He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face… a smile that was filled with relief and real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As fate would have it, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him around. He told me that he had previously attended a private school and that his school work had been too great for any outside activities.
Now, I would have never hung out with a private school kid...too many differences in our lifestyles for any kind of compatibility; but as we walked home from school that day, we talked all the way…I even carried some of his books. As it turned out, Kyle was a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with me and my friends and he said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him….and so did my friends!
Before I knew it was Monday morning and there was Kyle with that huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, are you gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!” He just laughed and handed me half of them.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was off to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends... that no amount of miles would ever come between us and our friendship. He was studying to be a doctor and I was to major in business thanks to a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd, especially since he had to prepare a speech for the graduation ceremony. Man, was I glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day arrived and I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really filled out and found himself in high school…he even looked good in his glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him… sometimes, I teased him about how I jealous I was of him!
Today was going to be a tough day for him and I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful kind) and smiled. "Thanks," was all he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began, "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. You thank your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe even a coach…. but mostly, you thank your friends...I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give to them. I am going to tell you a story."
What Kyle said next shocked me to my core and I just looked at my friend in disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and how he was carrying all his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile….. Not until that moment did I realize the depth and the love behind that smile.
That smile…that friendship….that one defining moment when we met…. changed my life and the life of my best friend, Kyle….forever!
WHAT A STORY……
Maybe today, you are in need of a smile from a friend…or maybe, it’s your turn to be the one to give a smile…a smile of encouragement, a smile of compassion, a smile of confirmation that a friend so desperately needs. Maybe today is the time to make a new friend …to step out of your comfort zone and make your self vulnerable …to lend a helping hand with no thought for repayment.
The writer of Proverbs speaks of friendship in these ways in 17:17, “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity” and in 18:24, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” But, it is Christ that defines friendship in its ultimate form in John 15: 13 when He says, “Greater love has no one than this, than he lay down his life for his friend.”
Do you have a friend like that today …or better yet, are you a friend like that today? If you will follow the example of your Savior, your answer will please you and Him….and He will smile on you in a very special way ….a holy smile of gratitude.
Seeking to Make Him Smile,
WPQ
One day, during my freshman year, as I was walking home from school, I saw a kid from my class walking just ahead. His name was Kyle.
I looked and saw that he was carrying all of his books; and I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."
I was lost in my own thoughts as I began to think of the fun that I had planned for the weekend, what with the parties, football game and such with my friends. Kyle’s plight as a nerd seemed inconsequential, so I shrugged my shoulders and went on my merry way. Out of the blue, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They quickly surrounded him, pushing him to the ground, knocking all his books out of his arms….he lay sprawled in the dirt face down; then they ran off, laughing and calling him names as they sprinted away. The force of their pushing and shoving had sent Kyle’s glasses flying through the air and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. When he finally looked up, I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes….My heart went out to him, so I jogged over to him and as he feverishly searched for his glasses, I saw a tears forming in his eyes. I reached down, picked up his glasses and handed them to him and said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.”
He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face… a smile that was filled with relief and real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As fate would have it, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him around. He told me that he had previously attended a private school and that his school work had been too great for any outside activities.
Now, I would have never hung out with a private school kid...too many differences in our lifestyles for any kind of compatibility; but as we walked home from school that day, we talked all the way…I even carried some of his books. As it turned out, Kyle was a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with me and my friends and he said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him….and so did my friends!
Before I knew it was Monday morning and there was Kyle with that huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, are you gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!” He just laughed and handed me half of them.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was off to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends... that no amount of miles would ever come between us and our friendship. He was studying to be a doctor and I was to major in business thanks to a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd, especially since he had to prepare a speech for the graduation ceremony. Man, was I glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day arrived and I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really filled out and found himself in high school…he even looked good in his glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him… sometimes, I teased him about how I jealous I was of him!
Today was going to be a tough day for him and I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful kind) and smiled. "Thanks," was all he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began, "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. You thank your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe even a coach…. but mostly, you thank your friends...I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give to them. I am going to tell you a story."
What Kyle said next shocked me to my core and I just looked at my friend in disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and how he was carrying all his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile….. Not until that moment did I realize the depth and the love behind that smile.
That smile…that friendship….that one defining moment when we met…. changed my life and the life of my best friend, Kyle….forever!
WHAT A STORY……
Maybe today, you are in need of a smile from a friend…or maybe, it’s your turn to be the one to give a smile…a smile of encouragement, a smile of compassion, a smile of confirmation that a friend so desperately needs. Maybe today is the time to make a new friend …to step out of your comfort zone and make your self vulnerable …to lend a helping hand with no thought for repayment.
The writer of Proverbs speaks of friendship in these ways in 17:17, “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity” and in 18:24, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” But, it is Christ that defines friendship in its ultimate form in John 15: 13 when He says, “Greater love has no one than this, than he lay down his life for his friend.”
Do you have a friend like that today …or better yet, are you a friend like that today? If you will follow the example of your Savior, your answer will please you and Him….and He will smile on you in a very special way ….a holy smile of gratitude.
Seeking to Make Him Smile,
WPQ
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