Tag: Jesus

  •  Those two commodities are in short supply these days, aren’t they?

    We shouldn’t be surprised. Any time spent paying attention to the news almost surely will include reports of angry, often shouting people, protesting someone or something they’re unhappy with. That’s no surprise. People often disappoint us and let us down. So does life in general, apparently even for the rich and famous.

    That inner nagger taunts us continually: Whatcha gonna do about it?

    Thanks be, Easter is coming and its meaning can refresh our spirits 

    The Easter story really began the Friday before. A crowd gathered at a rocky hill outside Jerusalem. They could not  look away from the horror Blog. Calvary. 3.16unfolding before them. Three rough wooden crosses had been pounded into the rocky ground and three men had been nailed to them.

    A few days before–on the day we now call Palm Sunday–Jesus, the man hanging on the center cross, had attracted cheering crowds. Now his life ebbed away as onlookers watched. Most of them had either seen  him perform miracles or they had heard the reports. No one else turned water into fine wine or fed huge crowds of people with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread. Jesus  stilled the raging storm and walked on water, healed the blind and the lame. Unbelievably, he even raised the dead back to life. 

    Now this One whom wind and water obeyed appeared to be utterly powerless.

    How could this be?

     After six hours Jesus drew his final breath of air  

    The Sabbath would begin at dusk so his followers implored the Roman guards to take his body down from the cross. Then these friends carried his body to a new tomb which had been cut into the side of a hill. They wrapped strips of linen and spices around his body, according to the custom of the times.

    As for the religious authorities, they had long felt threatened by Jesus. Now they could breathe a collective sigh of relief. He was out of their way. After all, dead is dead.

    It wasn’t long before new concerns filled their minds. What if someone stole his body and then pronounced it yet another miracle? The risk might be small, but these leaders pressured Roman authorities to have a boulder rolled across the tomb’s opening and seal the edges with melted wax. What’s more, armed guards were ordered to stand watch around the clock.

    At last the religious leaders could relax and prepare to resume their life of power and position as before.

    Then came Sunday, the third day   

    Just after dawn several followers of Jesus went to his grave at different times. They found the stone rolled away and the Blog. Empty Tomb. 3.16tomb empty. All that remained were the strips of linen that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body. The burial cloth that had been around His head lay by itself, neatly folded up. (John 20:5-8.)

    What could this mean? Each time an angel or a pair of angels appeared and told them, “He is not here. He is risen!” (Mark 16 and Luke 24)

    Only then did they recall that Jesus told them several times that He would rise. Could this  be what he meant?

    Over the next weeks Jesus, very much alive, appeared to his followers and friends many times. He spoke with them and touched them–and they touched him. He ate with them and told them how much he loved them. Jesus  promised to send the Holy Spirit, to provide them with power so they could carry on his ministry on earth.

    Their lives–and the sureness of their faith–would never be the same. 

    Thinking it through  

    God cannot die for any reason because He is eternal, without beginning and without end, therefore Jesus had to be true man. Yet Jesus had to be true God because one man cannot forgive sins or pay the price of sin for the world. Only God. Jesus was truly God and truly man (human).

    Read the first few verses in the Gospel of John, which tell us the Word (Jesus) was present when God the Father created the world and everything in it. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth as the Babe born to Mary in Bethlehem. At age 33, he began his ministry on earth, which culminated in his death on the cross. Three days later, he rose–was alive again, which is why we say he is our living Savior, 

    All this is beyond our human understanding

    Tim Keller expressed that truth this way: “If God were small enough to be fully understood, He wouldn’t be big enough to be worshiped.” 

    The Bible tells us the “why” of Easter: 

    (Jesus said) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that everyone who believes in him shall have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” –John 3:16  NIV

    “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” –John 10:10  NIV

    All it costs us to be a Christian is to take God at his word and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The One who brings us hope when life feels hopeless. Who speaks comfort and peace in our times of pain and loss. Who offers love when we feel loveless and alone. In Jesus, our life endures beyond death.

    No wonder we can have Easter joy even on our darkest days. No wonder we celebrate Easter every year!

    Blessings to you and yours,

    Lenore

     

    Found: Hope and Joy That Light Up Dark Days

  • Ask this question of a random group of people and answers will be all over the place.  

    One person may say, “I guess it’s kind of a nice story, but I can’t relate. I mean, this is the 21st century. How does a story about a baby in a manger have any meaning for us today?”

    Another may say, “I think all religions are pretty much the same, so what difference does it make? We’re all headed for the same place, no matter how we get there. Isn’t that the bottom line?” 

    For people around the world who come to faith in Jesus, the story of that first Christmas is life-changing.

    Here’s the true story of one such man, who found this to be true

    Blog. Two men. Coffee. 12.21I heard about a businessman, “Kevin,” who years ago had to spend some time overseas. He noticed he was scheduled for a free day in the city his college roommate called “home.” After a lengthy Internet search he arranged to meet with his old friend.

    Kevin and “Abbud,” met in a quiet cafe and found a table toward the back. Immediately they slipped into the easy comfort of good friends reunited and talked for hours. After awhile Kevin mentioned he had been aware his friend came from a non-Christian background, but he hadn’t known how to talk about it.  

    Abbud carefully looked all around the space, then speaking almost in a whisper, he said, “That was true then, but no more. Believe me, I do not say this to many people. At home my wife ‘Alika’ and I find ways to hear and to watch broadcasts and telecasts from the West. Of course, we are very, very careful. 

    “When first we heard the good news of the Gospel we right away gave our hearts to Jesus.  

    Kevin said nothing for awhile, then cleared his throat and murmured, “This is an answer to prayer, my friend. Those years we shared a room it didn’t seem important–and besides, I thought I needed the ‘right’ words to talk about faith. I’ve wished ever since that I said something. I’ve prayed for you, really, I have.” 

    For awhile the two men sat quietly, sipping their coffee. Then Kevin asked, “Could I ask what differences you find between the two religions?” 

    Abbud answered quietly, but without hesitation, “It is night and day! We all were taught that God is impossibly far from human beings, but still we must try our hardest to reach toward Him through being faithful in our spiritual practices.   

    “Imagine what it means now, to know that in Jesus, God came to earth as an infant, just so he could live among human beings. Among people like us!

    “It still amazes me every time I think that God came to us!

    “You probably don’t remember, but the last day of school you gave me a little Bible and told me to read it on the long flight back home. I just tucked it into my bag and never opened it, kept it hidden all these years.

    “Now I could not stop reading. The more I read, the more I was amazed. In Exodus it tells how God dwelt with His people, the Israelites, there in the wilderness. God went before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. He even spoke to Moses directly!

    “Then Alika and I read it was God’s plan all along to send His Son to earth. He came to pay the price of all our sins. He came to set us right with holy God. We could live free from fear, free from condemnation. Right away I felt lighter, as if someone unlocked my heavy chains.

    “Jesus did it all! For me! I will never be the same. No matter what comes next, I have peace in my heart–and so does my wife.”

    Abbud’s dark eyes shone as he said, “So for us, this is what’s different about the Christian faith. Knowing that Jesus is for us and with us sets our hearts at rest.”

    The Christmas story is more than just a charming holiday tale 

    First, plug into your awareness that this is more than just an unusual story about a baby. In the Bible, Jesus often is called the Word, as in the Gospel of John 1:1-5, 14; 3:16-17:  

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. he was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

    The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.    

    The Christian faith is not about a far-off, distant god or a monument

    Nor is it about magnificent temples or cities where followers must go and worship to prove their faithfulness. It’s not even about living up to a list of dos and don’ts.

    The Christian faith is all about our Lord being up close and personal for every one of us. Our Savior and best Friend. Our Comforter. Our strength. Our Deliverer. Our Peace. Our Joy. 

    That’s why God came to earth, born as a human baby to a human mother, there in Bethlehem. Fully human and fully God.

    He came for you. For me. And for all the world.

    That’s the heart of what we call the Christmas story. 

    Dear Reader, whoever you are and wherever you may be, may your heart be filled with the peace and joy of Jesus this Christmas and every day of the New Year!

    Lenore

    What do you think? Is the Christmas Story just a story?

  • Some of us know anxiety like the back of our hands, the low-level uneasiness that never settles down.

    Take a nap, take a walk, take a pill, it's still there. Sometimes we blame it on current events or relationships or family situations. Other times we can't figure out a cause for the nagging sense that something "isn't right." 

    Could the root cause of our unrest be a matter of the soul?

    Easter, when Jesus set things right between God and us 

    Bog. Heart. Cross. 3.21But first came Christmas and what the angels announced to the shepherds:

    For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.   Luke 2:11

    Jesus, true God and true man, was born as a human infant.

    When Jesus was about thirty years old he began to teach and preach about God the Father and about the reason he was born.   

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

    For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 6:23

    Jesus gave his life for you and me, to pay the price for all the ways we fail to live the way God would have us live. That is, to live a perfect life in thought, word, or deed.  

    It cost Jesus everything. All it costs us is to let go of our easy skepticism and truly investigate God's written word.

    Primary source material abounds. Just read the eyewitness accounts found in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 

    The record doesn't stop there

    Several respected historians of the time described the same events. One was Josephus, a well-researched and respected Jewish historian, who lived from 37-100 AD. He wrote "Jewish Antiquities" in 93 AD. Here are some excerpts from that book. 

    (Jesus) "a wise man … who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly … Pilate had condemned him to a cross … He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him … And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared."   –Book 18, Ch. 3, part 3.

    Josephus, like all historians, recorded facts, names and places. These historical accounts prove it's no myth that a man called Jesus lived and died on the cross, then three days later, he rose again to life.

    What then? After that the risen Jesus, fully alive, showed himself to believers (Acts 1:3). He wanted them to know for sure that he was not a spirit or a ghost, but truly a human being. They touched him and Jesus talked with them. He ate ordinary meals with them.

    After forty days he ascended to Heaven to sit at the Father's right hand.

    The cross was God's way out for you and me

    Our loving God knew we human beings cannot live an absolutely holy life because we all fail, all the time, even with our best efforts. We can't even live up to our own good resolutions.

    For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23

    If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:8-9

    That's why Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to willingly die in our place.

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

    Jesus died so we can live free from guilt and fear of punishment and hell.

    He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.     1 Peter 2:24

    He did it all for you and me, so we could have eternal life, life that never ends.  

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

    What now?

    Once again we find the answers in the Bible.

    If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.   Romans 6:23

    When we confess our sin to God, we hand over all our failures and mistakes and uncertainties. All of it. And we are to leave it there.

    Because Jesus died in our place, our loving Father answers, "What sins? My only Son paid your debt in full. My dear child, I love you."

    It's as if God looks at us through one of those lenses equipped with a filter and sees only his perfect Son.

    We can swap anxiety for peace. For good

    Jesus living within us means we are never left alone to fear what comes next. Not even death, because we know that's not the end of our story, either.

    This is only the beginning of the good stuff.

    So let the anxiety go. Take a deep breath and relax. Let yourself believe in Jesus as your Savior, knowing he will not deny you. Feel the peace of being loved and accepted by God, without any ifs, ands or buts.  

    Next time anxiety comes knocking, turn your mind to the chorus of the beautiful old hymn, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus."

    Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,

    And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

    Happy Easter! May you know the lasting the deep-down peace and joy of knowing and trusting Jesus Christ as your forever friend and Savior.  

    I'm praying for you, gentle reader,

    Lenore 

    Swap Anxiety for Peace That Lasts

  • Peel away the tinsel and take a fresh look at Christmas