"It’s Your Thang--Do What You Wanna Do"--huh?

“It’s your thang; do what you wanna do!”  That was the music of my generation.  It was radical, it was hip, new and cool for us teenagers.  It was a cry of rebellion against the older generation, and we loved it.

But as a new Christian at age 15, I couldn’t help having this nagging question – “How does this fit with the Scriptures?”

I was all for independence, and I did move far away from home, go to places my parents had never gone, and followed a career path they did not forge.  However, I was never “on board” with the current culture’s “Do your own thing” protest.  It was mixed with something foul, though I couldn’t put my finger on what.

This morning, the day before Easter Sunday, I read this verse:

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

There is the answer to my question. “Each of us has turned to our own way” sounds awfully close to “Do your own thing,” don’t you think?

What’s wrong with that?  What is wrong is in the meaning of the word “iniquity.”  Iniquity is not innocent independence, as of a young person reaching maturity, but it means being a law unto yourself.  It is an attitude before it is an action.  In ancient Hebrew times it meant to “go astray” or “deviate from the right path.”  In Jesus’ time it meant “the condition of one without law” or “lawlessness.”

I was right to reject this attitude.  This was the very attitude which caused Jesus to die on the cross.  The attitude of “lawlessness” – an extreme version of “do your own thing” – is the root of all sin, and it carries a steep penalty.  Praise God that Jesus chose to take that penalty himself.

This is what Easter weekend is all about – we human beings went astray but then Jesus stepped in and took the punishment.

But the weekend is not over yet!  Sunday’s coming!

The Sermon That's Not For Everyone

The Sermon on the Mount 

Matthew 5-7

Jesus’ popular teachings that are often called “the sermon on the mount” are not for everyone.  And yet, of course, they are for everyone.  Let me explain.

In Matthew chapter 4 we read that Jesus had been supernaturally healing everyone who came to him.  Naturally, this stirred a lot of interest!  More and more people began to follow him.  Such a huge crowd of people followed him that he went up on a mountainside to teach them.  It’s as if he was saying: “So you are looking for physical healing from God – let me show you how to find true and complete healing from God – a life transformation.”

I’m sure many books have been written on the teachings in this sermon of Jesus’, but I want to focus on his one simple message –

Here’s how a person who wants to follow God

 can line up his behavior with what God is really like.

I see three truths that Jesus revealed about God:

• God is holy – no fudging it.
• God is genuine – no faking it.
• God is generous – no worries.

Here’s where I explain why this sermon is not directed at “everyone” – Jesus was talking to those who were “following” him, those who were seeking God.

So when he talks about divorce, murder, adultery – he tells them that their cultural morality they have grown up with won’t do.  If you’re seeking after God, God is holy – you will have to set the bar higher.  You think that a good person is kind?  God is even kind to his enemies.  You think that you’re OK in your marriage if you stop short of sex with others, but where is your head?  You think it’s natural to want revenge for a wrong, but God is forgiving and compassionate.

Next he kind of addresses the “religious” crowd – those who have been faithful to go to synagogue and obey the Mosaic law all their life.  Praying, fasting, and tithing, these people “seem” to be seeking God.  But you can’t fake God out – you will have to really mean your prayers and do your service to others from the heart if you want to follow God.  God entertains no fakers.  Get real.

And then there are his encouraging words to the normal, hard-working people – don’t be discouraged, because God is way more generous than you think and he’s got your back.  So you work 9 to 5 and take a second job to support the family and still you worry that you can’t make ends meet?  Look around you!  Even flowers and birds get their needs met by this caring Father, and you have the privilege and ability to ask when you need something!  Don’t worry about it.

So, you see, Jesus was not talking to people who want to be good, he was talking to people who want to have God.  You can be good by the world’s standards and miss God’s completely.  How badly do you want God himself?  It’s up to you.

EYES ON THE PRIZE

It’s so easy to get tangled up in worries or even pleasures and get off the track in life, but we have a race to run!  

God has already marked out the course for us, so we just have to keep on keeping on. Keep your eyes on the prize.  Here’s how: FOCUS your eyes on Jesus.  Don’t take your eyes off him for a second, because he is the Only One who won this race and got the gold.  He’s the only perfect example of a faith that pleases God. 

He got to the joy God promised him, but he had to endure a cross of pain and suffering first, as shameful as it was.  Now that he’s gone through that, he’s been given a Throne of Glory in Heaven.  That’s got to be the ultimate medal.  He rules!

Think about it – every ambitious and ungodly force was arrayed against him, but he got through it.  He didn’t give up, he didn’t get discouraged, and we shouldn’t either!  Our pain isn’t half as bad as his was because we’ve still got our lives.

Don’t forget – God is like a father who only disciplines his sons for their own good.  Take heart! – your troubles are actually evidence that God loves you like a son.  

You can do this.

Hebrews 12: 1-13 paraphrased by ldm

THE SEVENTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE SEVENTH WORD
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Gospel of Luke 23:46

The seventh word of Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke, and is directed to the Father in heaven, just before He dies. Jesus recalls Psalm 31:5 - "Into thy hands I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God." Luke repeatedly pleads Jesus' innocence: with Pilate (Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22), through Dismas (by legend), the criminal (Luke 23:41), and immediately after His death with the centurion" "Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent" (Luke 23:47).

Jesus was obedient to His Father to the end, and his final word before his death on the Cross was a prayer to His Father.

The relationship of Jesus to the Father is revealed in the Gospel of John, for He remarked, "The Father and I are one" (10:30), and again, at the Last Supper: "Do you not believe I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works" (14:10). And He can return: "I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father" (16:28). Jesus fulfills His own mission and that of His Father on the Cross:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
So that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

THE SIXTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE SIXTH WORD
They put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 

"It is finished;" and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit. Gospel of John 19:29-30

John recalls the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12 in this passage. Hyssop is a small plant that was used to sprinkle the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrews. John's Gospel related that it was the Day of Preparation, the day before the actual Passover  that Jesus was sentenced to death  and sacrificed on the Cross. John continues: "But when they came to Jesus and saw he was already dead, they did not break his legs," recalling the instruction in Exodus 12:46 concerning the Passover Lamb. He died at three o'clock in the afternoon, about the same time as the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the Temple. Christ became the Passover Lamb, as noted by St. Paul: "For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed". The innocent Lamb was slain for our sins, so that we might be forgiven.  The sixth word is Jesus' recognition that his suffering is over and his task is completed. Jesus is obedient to the Father and gives his love for mankind by redeeming us with His death on the Cross. 

When Jesus died, He "handed over" the Spirit. Jesus remained in control to the end, and it is He who handed over his Spirit.  

The above painting is meant to capture the moment.
What is the darkest day of mankind becomes the brightest day for mankind.

Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

THE FIFTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE FIFTH WORD
"I thirst." Gospel of John 19:28

"The fifth word of Jesus is His only human expression of His physical suffering. Jesus is now in shock. The wounds inflicted upon him in the scourging, the crowning with thorns, and the nailing upon the cross are now taking their toll, especially after losing blood on the three-hour walk through the city of Jerusalem to Golgotha on the Way of the Cross."   Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

Jesus is fully a human being.  When he was on earth, before his resurrection, he had all the same needs that you and I do.  How else could he convince us that he understands our pain and has walked where we walk?  How else could he “learn obedience from the things he suffered”?  How else could he take our place and take our punishment?  And so he became the only human being worthy to stand before God:

 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.  I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.  Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  …

 “You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.”   Revelation 5:1-10

THE FOURTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE FOURTH WORD
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

This was the only expression of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Both Gospels related that it was in the ninth hour, after 3 hours of darkness, that Jesus cried out this fourth word. The ninth hour was three o'clock in Judea. After the fourth Word, Mark related with a horrible sense of finality, "And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last" (Mark 15:37).

One is struck by the anguished tone of this expression in contrast to the first three words of Jesus. This cry is from the painful heart of the human Jesus who must feel deserted by His Father and the Holy Spirit, not to mention his earthly companions the Apostles. As if to emphasize his loneliness, Mark even has his loved ones "looking from afar," not close to him as in the Gospel of John. Jesus feels separated from his Father. He is now all alone, and he must face death by himself.

But is not this exactly what happens to all of us when we die? We too are all alone at the time of death! Jesus completely lives the human experience as we do, and by doing so, frees us from the clutches of sin.

His fourth Word is the opening line of Psalm 22, and thus his cry from the Cross recalls the cry of Israel, and of all innocent persons who suffer. Psalm 22 of David makes a striking prophecy of the crucifixion of the Messiah at a time when crucifixion was not known to exist: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones" (22:16-17). The Psalm continues: "They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots" (22:18).

There can not be a more dreadful moment in the history of man as this moment. Jesus who came to save us is crucified, and He realizes the horror of what is happening and what He now is enduring. He is about to be engulfed in the raging sea of sin. Evil triumphs, as Jesus admits: "But this is your hour" (Luke 22:53). But it is only for a moment. The burden of all the sins of humanity for a moment overwhelm the humanity of our Savior.

But does this not have to happen? Does this not have to occur if Jesus is to save us? It is in defeat of his humanity that the Divine plan of His Father will be completed. It is by His death that we are redeemed. "For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:5-6).

"He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed."
I Peter 2:24

Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

THE THIRD WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE THIRD WORD
"Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son."
Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." Gospel of John 19:26-27

Jesus and Mary are together again, at the beginning of his ministry in Cana and now at the end of his public ministry at the foot of the Cross. The Lord refers to his mother as woman at the Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2:1-11) and in this passage, recalling the woman in Genesis 3:15, the first Messianic prophecy of the Redeemer, and anticipating the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12.

What sorrow must fill Mary's heart, to see her Son mocked, tortured, and crucified. Once again, a sword pierces Mary's soul: we are reminded of the prediction of Simeon at the Temple (Luke 2:35) . There are four at the foot of the cross, Mary his Mother, John, the disciple whom he loved, Mary of Cleopas, his mother's sister, and Mary Magdalene. He addresses his third word to Mary and John, the only eye-witness of the Gospel writers.

But again Jesus rises above the occasion, and his concerns are for the ones that love him. The good son that He is, Jesus is concerned about taking care of his mother. 

Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

About Freedom -- An Easter Meditation

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  Galatians 5:1

 

Galatians is truly a wonderful book.  It is about freedom.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”  This is such good news we can hardly believe it.  In fact, most of the time people don’t believe it.  If, when they hear this good news and come to Christ they feel a rush of happiness at this freedom, they soon replace it with some level of bondage again. 

Even though we long for freedom with our whole being, we human beings find it hard to STAY free!  Why is that? 

For some, it’s because we don’t think we deserve it.  DUH!!  Isn’t that the whole point of the gospel!  We didn’t deserve it and God loved us and sent his Son who paid the price of our undeserving selves.  Last night I heard a story that comes from Leviticus.  The Israelites were told to bring in two pigeons as offerings.  The one was killed and they put its blood on the other one and set it free.  Bingo!  Jesus and I come before God – Jesus was killed and by my acceptance of that God puts his blood “on” me – I fly free.

Good news!

There are other psychological reasons that we don’t STAY free.  One is pride.  Accepting God’s offer of a free exchange doesn’t leave me any room to brag.  I am standing there psychologically naked before God.  That is uncomfortable – since the time of Adam who went and found some old leaves to cover up his nakedness!  I feel I must get rid of my sense of uncomfortableness by doing something – even leaves will do.  But that is a slippery slope.  First leaves, then skins.  Then Eve looks at the two of them and says, “We can do better than this.  These skins have no style!”  And she creates a whole industry based on looking good.

Voila! --

Looking good to each other and to ourselves begins to take over and cover up the reality that, yes, we are naked before God but we don’t have to be ashamed anymore because God himself has covered us, through Christ, and we are really, truly, forever, freely OK.

When will we ever learn!   

These intrusions on our freedom are so sneaky.  There is the religious cover-up, also.  We accept Christ and are happy.  We come to church to be with other people who know Christ (because our old friends don't understand us anymore), but after a while we notice these people aren’t all happy.  They have problems, and we still have problems, and someone says, “Come over here – I have found a fix for this problem.”  And someone else says, Going to church often will help the problems.  And then it’s, “Serving the poor will help us feel better and fix the problems.”  Or “Serving the poor in Africa will really put us in good stead and make us happy.”

And, voila! --

Next thing you know we are dragged down the same path of thinking – that our own actions will get us right with God and people.

Help!

Although there are many paths to losing our freedom in Christ,  

there is always the same simple way out. 

Come to the cross. 

Kneel there. 

Confess that you can’t do it. 

Receive God’s forgiveness and ask for his help. 

Open your heart to His Spirit doing it through you.

Get up and go with God.

Breathe.

Isn’t freedom wonderful.