He was born to die!

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are                        healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53: 5-6

That's powerful prophetic scripture! Alistair Begg, in What Angels Wish They Knew, 
points out many interesting and thought-provoking aspects of the death of Christ.
He mentions the three hours of darkness that spread over the land in the mid-afternoon;
quite a contrast to the bright light that ushered in the glorious birth of the child Jesus.

Hymn words:

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut the glories in,
When God the mighty maker dies
For man the creature's sin.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God"  2 Cor. 5:21

There are many confused nihilists in this world that would suggest that we are born, ____
happens, and then we die. Jesus, as fully God and fully man, came to this world 
in a total act of sacrifice and walked steadily toward a brutal death upon a cross. He, of
course, by necessity, needed to be both God and man, as chief priest and as the second
Adam to fulfill God's glorious grace-filled plan for redemption of those who would recognize
their need for a spotless redeemer. 

Yes, He came here to die. Along the way He taught the gospel of good news, performed
countless miracles, reached out to the sick with healing and succumbed to most
brutal, unfair treatment with unbelievable grace and class. His was on a mission for His
Father, complete and noble willingness to do what would bring glory and provide
for His sheep, who He knew from before the beginning of time.

They were dark moments done for dark people. He was the light of the world come down
to provide a means. He remains the light of the world, a light shining brightly in the
hearts of those who love Him.

I love Him! Praise His glorious name.

Thank heaven for Google Translate! CHRIST JESUS IS SUFFICIENT!!!!

Jesús es suficiente!

Jezus is genoeg!

Jésus est assez!

Jesus ist genug!

Ο Ιησούς είναι αρκετό!

ישו זה מספיק!

Iesu yn ddigon!

イエスは十分です！

Jesus är nog!

Иисус достаточно!

Jesus é o suficiente!

예수님은 충분하다!

Jesus sat est?   

Gesù è sufficiente!

No matter what the language, the message remains the same: Jesus Christ is enough!

He is bigger than your biggest problem, bigger than your biggest fear, bigger than your

most egregious sin, bigger than bank account balances, bigger than harsh words,

bigger than feuds between friends or family, bigger than any physical ailment, bigger,

yes bigger than death, bigger than Satan, bigger than the strongest sorrow, the

biggest loss the grandest temptation.....

Jesus is all you will ever need. Ask Him to be the center of your life, repent sins
and glorify Him. He is humble; yet, strong. He is loving; yet, powerful. He is a servant; yet,

a King. His shoulders are strong, His heart is huge. His patience is forever. He is

God, King, High Priest and Savior. 

Praise His glorious name!

the Lord's Amazing Hydration

Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.  John 4: 14

The meeting at Jacob's well is fascinating on many many levels. First, it represents the
longest conversation involving Jesus in the New Testament. It is also amazing just based
on the fact that Jesus has spoken to someone who would ordinarily be shunned by a
Hebrew man. His knowledge of this woman is amazing along with His statements 
regarding who He is.

But the whole water motif is amazingly important and "refreshing!"  This water
symbol is found throughout the Bible  from the creation in Genesis to Revelation, as
the river of life.

The River of Life - And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Rev 22

Even on the cross, as Christ Jesus is pierced, there comes a flow of both blood and water
from His body. There are suggestions that this is a result of shock or the flogging He endured, but the idea of baptismal cleansing and sacrificial blood flow are certainly worth
considering from a symbolic sense. 

I'm not smart enough to pinpoint what all these water references mean, but I believe
that one can accurately say that Jesus is the one, and only one, who sustains us in life
and in our own resurrection. He is sufficient in our lives and for our lives; He is truly
all that we need. Because He is omniscient, omnipotent and sovereign, He is fully
capable of our dependence on Him for all everything we need. 

Water is both necessary and sustaining in our lives. It is precious and not to be
wasted. When we bow down to Jesus and bring Him into prominence in our lives,
He becomes the shepherd taking care of the flock, each member of the flock. He
refuses to allow harm to each of us when we accept Him as Lord and Savior in
our lives. 

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11: 28-39

His arms are ope n and He beckons all to come to Him. What a wonderful request!
What an important decision, one that truly has everlasting implications!

Praise Jesus, our redeemer!

So... what are the odds?

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14: 6

I have heard that a lot of money was lost on this year's Super Bowl! I guess I have to
state that it wouldn't have been me betting on a sporting event, but I am aware that
many folks do so. What if we examined the "odds" of some other things, unrelated to
the world of sports....

What are the odds that we crawled out of some primordial ooze millions of years ago
and slowly developed into humans as they exist today? I believe that is called evolution, and
believe it or not, it is taught in the majority of public schools across this nation. I
will tell you that, in my opinion, the odds are 0..that's a zero! There has never been
any proof that cross-specie evolution has EVER happened. Worms do not evolve into
chimpanzees. But wait...

What if an alien spacecraft deposited some sort of genetic material and eventually
caused the human being to arrive? Show me an alien spacecraft and I still am calling this
a zero!

What are the odds that this world, this universe just happened...just suddenly became
out of nothing. No creator. Happenstance. Coincidence. NOPE! Ever do any studying of the
human brain? The human cell? The specific necessities that make this planet we live on
even inhabitable? Chance? I think not! ZERO!

What are the odds that any of us could stand before a Holy God and be considered
worthy of salvation? That any of us, on our own merit, would be seen as Holy, as justified,
as sinless? You got it! ZERO chance. That's what the good news of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ is all about. Saved by grace alone, by faith alone. Nothing we have done or could
do would put us in good standing with the God of this universe without the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross as our Savior, our High Priest our Redeemer.

I like the odds promised by the Bible that state that we have been adopted into the
family of God by the work of Jesus on that cross, that we will be seen as Christ's
righteousness at the Day of Judgement, that we have eternal life through The Lamb
of God... there's where I will put my confidence. Won't you join me?

The Most Terrible and Necessary Separation

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matt 27: 46

John 19:30
... he said, "It is finished!" 

It's painful, isn't it, to read about the last hours of our beloved Savior, Jesus. I still
haven't gathered the nerve to watch Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of Christ."
There were so many things about those moments on the cross the scream 'horrible!'
Yet, the single most gruesome fact of it all was the separation of Jesus, God's son, from
the father, a relationship that had existed before creation.

I believe that, being God, Jesus was well aware of the aspects He faced as he knelt
and prayed in the garden. He had spoken to His disciples, plainly, about the things that
must happen to Him when he was handed over. Despite their difficulty in understanding
the ramifications of those things, Jesus knew clearly what he was to face. This
foreknowledge focuses our understanding that this God/man was the only one who
could possibly have come to these moments with the potential of carrying out the
fullness of His earthly mission: atonement, fulfillment of the law and prophecy,
the final and complete sacrifice necessary for salvation and the ability to withstand
the full brunt of sin and this separation from the Father.

In the things I have read and heard from teachers, many suggest that it was this
separation which was the most devastating to withstand. God turned His back upon
His beloved son, unable to look upon the fullness of sin heaped upon His son. The light
of the relationship, like the sky over Golgotha, turned to darkness. That which meant
the most to Jesus, the acceptance and love of His Father, was withdrawn for what must
have seemed an interminable time. 

Yet, in the end, Jesus became aware that His reason for becoming flesh on this earth
had been completed. The debt had been fully paid. Sin had been defeated forever..
no more sacrifices that could not fulfill their purpose. Take a moment and think
about these accomplishments and the price He paid for achieving them... then speak
to Him and praise and glorify Him for what He has done for us.

Our savior. Our Lord. Our King. Our shepherd... Our reason for living...Christ Jesus.

By all means, please eat from that tree!

As usual, I am having some fun with the title and topic. It would be less than smart to
question anything that God does! Scripture assures us that God challenges but never
tempts; that's Satan's area of expertise! 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 6:23

So, it would be less than fair to criticize Eve or Adam for falling into Satan's trap, for
doing that which God forbade them. On one of the CD's I have listened to recently, the
speaker commented that ALL of us, we humans, would have fallen for the same guise. 
The result of that fall into temptation set in motion events that God, himself, envisioned
before the beginning of creation, events personified in the life of Jesus, the Son of God
who came into this world to free sinners into atonement with God through the cross
and resurrection.

Now having been a teacher for oh so many years, and knowing a bit about the nature of
human beings, children and adult, it may have been better, in retrospect, to not tell
those original humans what NOT to do. It's crazy how telling folks what they cannot do
seems, frequently, to result in them doing that very thing against which they have been
warned. I actually, purposely, set up situations where I "tested' the ability of my students
to avoid what I had asked them not to do. Well, they failed... miserably. I "left the lid off
the cookie jar, and they, despite my warning, went right ahead and gobbled!" "Read
the entire quiz before you answer any of the questions...!" I could go on with a bunch of
examples. Reverse psychology? No, just the habit of folks to respond when someone tells
them not to "touch the stove!"

No one knows people better than He who created them. He knows them and loves them.
He knew that we would fail the test, that sin would enter this world and leave us
helplessly unable to measure up to His Holiness. He knew that eventual judgement
would render us "undone" before His hatred of sin. He brought into existence a plan
for the ransom to be paid by the perfect, spotless, sinless Jesus Christ, His only and
beloved Son. Propitiation through the blood of Christ hanging on a tree. He wouldn't
let Abraham sacrifice his son; yet, He gave His beloved to wear the sins of all of us
so that we could be brought into the presence of God and seen as righteous.

Want to know why He is our Lord and Savior? The gospel! Praise God!

G. P. S. coming down from Heaven

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  

God's Provision System. We are all on a journey, of sorts. We're not really sure where
this journey will take us; yet, we have, with Christ Jesus as our savior and lord, a special
GPS built in to get us to the eventual destination. You don't need to plug this GPS into the
port of the car because it's automatic and thoroughly dependable. It doesn't need to
depend on satellites to determine where you are, and you don't need to plug in parameters.
You simply have to turn the steering wheel over to God; let Jesus take the wheel.

The journey, itself, will surely have some detours. There will be delays, traffic jams,
fender benders, moments of uncertainty. This GPS doesn't promise smooth sailing. It
promises that God knows the way. He has a plan mapped out for you, a trip-tik, if you 
will, designed to lead you in His ways for His good and glory. He knows how to get
the very best mileage out of those feet and that engine. He is, after all, the master
mechanic, the designer and creator of the creation that is you. 

The key is giving Him the keys. We need to allow Him to be our driver, to give up
the driver's seat and be His passenger. We have a tendency to want to be the driver,
to be in charge of the travels. We can, God forbid, just turn off this GPS, turn away from
He who knows what is best for us, design our own journey and provide our own
guidance. We can ignore the signs, if you will. We can just set out on our own
without accepting the realization that left to our own devices, we are headed toward
the eternal traffic accident, train wreck, catastrophe. If we turn away, there will
be no re-calibration. We will be lost and will not find our way, alone. 

So sit back and depend upon God for this journey you are on. Set your sights on
the prize ahead, the end of the trip, the entrance to Heaven and a great reunion
with Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Take the wheel, Jesus. It's all yours. I am all
yours!

The Ultimate Cardiologist

John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

I have to admit that I, like Nicodemus, was, at one time very perplexed by the
whole notion of being "born again." Obviously, being a Christian and having accepted
Jesus as my Lord and Savior means that I believe and try to follow His words.

I believe that this process is a type of heart transplant. Accepting God into
one's life brings a change. The pace of this change may vary, the actual beginnings
of the change may be difficult to measure or even understand, but there is a
change happening. I know some folks cringe at the word, but I see this 
transformation as nothing short of mystical.

When Jesus left those who had walked with Him for those three years, He
promised that He was going to send a counselor, a comforter, the Holy Spirit,
into the hearts of those who would declare Him as the Son of God and believe on
Him as their Lord. It is this spirit, Christ Himself, that comes into being inside
our hearts and begins the process of change. 

We are being changed. That's passive because it is being done to us. We are
essentially along for a glorious ride, one that begins to identify our sins so that
we can be aware, repent and strive to change our ways. The appreciation we
feel, the awe we feel at being saved by the sacrifice of God's son, help us to
take these revelations and work toward being more Christ-like. 

God is operating within our hearts to rework our thoughts, words and deeds
into ones that glorify Him through the changes made. He has invested in us
because He loves us. He has forgiven our sin, through the blood of Christ,
so that we may be adopted into His family. It's hard work for the surgeon
of our hearts; yet, from before the beginning of time, this plan was put
in place. It's a glorious, step-by-step procedure. Praise God our Father!

Simon bar-Jonah and self-preservation

I've been doing some reading about the disciple Peter, (Cephas), Simon and
have found it fascinating. Michael Card's book A Fragile Stone: the Emotional Life 
of Simon Peter is the one I am currently enjoying.

The bond and realtionship between Jesus and Simon is really one that I was
unaware of down to the basic fact that Simon is mentioned more frequently
and addressed personally more times by Jesus. The book paints a bond between
the two that must have been remarkable. 

Simon is seen as unpolished, quick to speak and act and, as the title
suggests, an emotional being. 

Even before reading these things about Simon Peter, I always found the
denial of Jesus, as foretold by our Savior, to be one of the most sad and
powerful moments in the Gospels; a moment that had to have been so very
tragic.

How can one explain it; I believe that it is the epitome of one of man's
most basic instincts, the powerful force of self-preservation.  Simon
is the one who declared Jesus to be the Son of God, who walked on the
water after asking Jesus to call him, who was first to declare himself
unworthy and a sinner, who rebuked the whole idea of Jesus dieing...
He was a very active and passionate follower, yet on that fateful
evening, even he could not overcome sleep when sorely needed and
the fear that caused him to deny his Lord.

Built into our dna is the need to remain alive, to protect ourselves
from death and pain. It is what makes those stories of men and women
who willingly die for others at the cost of their own existence so
powerful and hard to imagine. 

I believe that Simon Peter loved Jesus fully; yet, at that most frightening
moment. he was unable to overcome his fear. Jesus often said to Peter
"Do not fear," but the human condition got in the way.  Jesus knew He
was loved. Of course He knew what was to happen, and forgave completely.
That's what makes Him Lord of Lords!!!  
  

Ignorance Is Bliss....um..not so much!!

That saying is from a Thomas Gray poem of long ago. 
Back in my name calling days, I frequently called folks "ignorant" when I was
angry. To me, it meant that they were just stupid, not so smart... Turned out it
was me who wasn't real bright.

The condition of ignorance is really referring to being unaware or lacking in
knowledge. "What we don't know can't hurt us," is another phrase that
really can cause trouble.

I spent 60 years of my life in ignorance when it comes to Jesus and the gospel
of grace. That is truly frightening. It wasn't that I was uneducated...I did go to
church infrequently, but my life was void of the understanding that there was
a God who offered a "sonship," a God who was reaching out to one who is
totally undeserving, a Holy, Regal, Transcendent, Majestic caring God who
created me. In looking back, I'm convinced that He was patiently tapping me
on my shoulder just waiting to enter into my life and my heart. How
fortunate I am!!!

I was also ignorant of the being who works within the boundaries of this 
world, having been thrown out of heaven. He's the former angel whose
agenda is to bring us down, to make us feel guilty, hopeless, evil, worthless..
I could go on. He has been defeated and sentence has already been passed.
His job, it seems, is to ruin souls, and he works in direct opposition to
the grace of God. The Resurrection of Jesus put an end to death, to Satan
to our inability to ever be righteous in the eyes of our Father in Heaven.
Yet, an unawareness that this being is working against us can effect our
lives and our eternal salvation.

When one is ignorant of the gospel, the hardships, the stress, the sadness,
the miseries of this life are daunting. We are left to stand alone, purposeless,
ignorant of the grace that exists within the loving hands of the Prince of
Peace.  

Turn to Him. Pray to Him. Glorify Him. Ignorance be gone..you too, satan.

The Wondrous Hugs of Jesus

Matt: 11:28  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
   rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
   and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

So hold me Jesus 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace
   Rich Mullins  "Hold Me Jesus"

My wonderful father passed from this world some three years ago, and I miss him each day! My
memories always include the times when he brought comfort, physical comfort. He smelled like
Cherry Blend pipe tobacco, frequently. I loved that aroma! Memories' focus from earliest on are
holding his big hands, riding up on his shoulders as we walked, being tucked in and kissed good-
night, but most of all, the hugs! Those were enveloping hugs, full body, lost yourself hugs, hugs that
took away any bad stuff and made the world just seem right!

Being a 65 year-old, divorced male causes a decline in "hug" possibilities, and when they do
occur, they tend to be polite sorts of hugs. Kind of..."How you doing?" hugs. Even hugging my beloved daughter must include a measure of care... after all she is my daughter.

Well, I have found someone not only worthy of hugging but someone that forces no limits on
the hug quality and length. Jesus. In scripture, He repeatedly tells us to hand over our cares,
our fears, our sadness and tears, our problems... you see the picture. He is not limited by time,
place, dimension... in any way. He gladly reaches into this world and beckons us to take
advantage of His love and care. His shoulders are broad, his arms welcoming. He wants and
desires to be the center of our lives and the place where we honestly share the things of our
heart.

Here's the great part. Open your arms wide enough, often enough and wish with your very
soul, and He will HUG you. It's a hug your soul can feel and, if you get quiet and just
accept, it's a hug that you can actually feel. No kidding. Just give it a try and love Him and
trust Him with all that burdens you. Smell that Cherry Blend?

The Enigmatic Alpha and Omega Lamb

Had some fun with that title, but... there is no equal to the mysterious, splendid
God/person, Jesus Christ. 

John 1:29   Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.

His arrival on this earth was quiet and foretold His goal of servitude to mankind and
His Father. He came as an unassuming man who walked among the imperfect,
healed afflictions and spoke the truth. 

When one thinks of the images of Jesus, He comes across as gentle, often surrounded
by children. I know that it was almost shocking to me to understand His scorn and
challenging words to the Pharisees. His compassion for His followers is truly evident
in His teachings and His walk. His words were full of warnings, of the need to
treat others well, of the goal of loving His Father with all one's being, of wanting
people to not be afraid. He was the ultimate teacher who made it clear that there would
be judgement upon the earth. His courage is beyond question; he marched ahead
toward a torturous death upon the cross because of His love for mankind and His
Father. A victorious God/man who rose in triumph over death and Satan.

Revelation 22: 12  Behold I am coming soon!... I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

The power of these words, spoken from Heaven, is symbolic of the Jesus one
meets in Revelation; a powerful Lord who has defeated the armies of Satan and ushered
in the end times, the new Heaven and Earth, the final judgement. He is the
all-powerful Lord over all creation and one doesn't have any difficulty understanding
His glory, His sovereignty and His Strength. I don't believe that He is the
antithesis of the Lamb born into the world; He is simply the completion of
the embodiment of our glorious savior and king.

Can't wait to fall on my knees in His presence! What a glorious moment that will be!