The UGLY beautiful day

It’s Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus’ death on a Roman cross. Why did it happen?  Let’s make it personal.  What is the darkest, ugliest part of your life, some choice you made, something you did, an attitude that hangs on? What memory brings regret, is buried so deeply you hope no one else remembers it?  God sees it, knows about it. That is why Jesus went to the Cross!  Oh yes, much of sin is much more ordinary than the moments just recalled.  When we are Self-willed, when we worship something or someone other than God, when we choose to ignore or dislike another person, when we refuse to love – we sin, too.  But, those things are so common in our experience we come to accept them as normal. But, that is why Jesus went to the Cross, too! That is the UGLY.

Now the beautiful – there is an invitation offered to you, to me.
Here it is - “Be reconciled to God. 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 5:20-6:1)  The Holy One calls us close, despite the filthiness.  How can that be? Because the Son of God became a sin offering for us so that we could become beautifully whole and holy.

Do not make the tragic mistake of many; minimizing your sin by comparison, excusing your behavior with rationalization. Most likely you have not brutally murdered anyone but have you assassinated another’s reputation with malice?  You have not worshiped an idol god, but have you loved your money with a fervor like religious devotion?  Getting the picture yet? 

Isaiah does not spare the graphic description of our state without God’s grace. "We continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:5-6, NIV)  Even our best choices are compared to dirty, greasy rags!

And yet, God loved us. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!" (Romans 5:8-9, NIV)  That’s why Jesus went to the Cross!

Today, an ugly, beautiful day, let those thoughts weigh heavily on you.  Jesus once asked a self-righteous man who loves most.  The man was deeply offended that Jesus would allow a prostitute to touch Him, to bath His feet with her tears of gratitude and worship because of the release from shame He gave. But the Lord reminded the man that his own sense of well-being kept him from knowing God’s love. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” (Luke 7:47, NLT)

Spend some time with the ugly.  I did! But, I looked past that to the beautiful – my sins carried by a Savior, my relationship to the Father secured by His willingness to become sin for me.    

Ah, yes, this is Good Friday!

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Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

(worship at this link)

One day when heaven was filled with His praises

One day when sin was as black as could be

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin

Dwelt among men my example is He

The Word became flesh

And the light shined among us

His glory revealed

Living He loved me dying He saved me

Buried He carried my sins far away

Rising He justified freely forever

One day He's coming

O glorious day (glorious day)

One day they led Him up Calv'ry's mountain

One day they nailed Him to die on a tree

Suffering anguish despised and rejected

Bearing our sins my Redeemer is He

The hand that healed nations

Stretched out on a tree

And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer

One day the stone rolled away from the door

Then He arose over death He had conquered

Now is ascended my Lord evermore

Death could not hold Him

The grave could not keep Him

From rising again

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming

One day the skies with His glories will shine

Wonderful day my beloved one bringing

My Savior Jesus is mine

O glorious day glorious day

O glorious day

John Wilbur Chapman | Mark Hall | Michael Bleecker

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CCLI License # 810055

Pastor Jerry Scott

FAITH DISCOVERY CHURCH

www.FaithDiscovery.com

Kingdom Come!

“Why do we celebrate Easter with colored eggs and rabbits?” the young girl asked.  A good question since for so many that is about the extent of their recognition of what should be the most important Christian holy day! The egg and rabbit traditions are left over from pagan fertility rituals that marked the coming of Springtime.  While those of us from northern climates do appreciate the renewal of the Earth and the return of “life” in the Spring, our celebration is about a grand renewal, the coming of the Kingdom of God!

When Jesus sat down to the Passover with His disciples, it was to celebrate the Lord’s calling of the Jewish people out of captivity in Egypt to return to the Promised Land, where they became a nation, “a people belonging to God.”  At that meal Jesus revealed God’s ongoing plan, another deliverance, calling all people out of captivity to sin and the creation of His Church, a holy people, whose mission would be to announce that Christ has conquered sin and death, the  ‘Kingdom Come!’

Do you remember?
"When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them,  "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."   

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:14-20, NIV)

Holy Week helps us to renew our hope and understanding, individually and as His holy people.  At the Cross, there was an intense battle. In a mystery that is beyond our full understanding, God dealt with sin, evil, and death by becoming sin for us.  Jesus emerged from the tomb the Victor, the sacrificial Lamb of God, now the King of Glory. What a tragedy to reduce our commemoration of this amazing cosmic event to some chocolate candy, colored eggs, and the Easter bunny.

Let us come to the table and remember, reverently, yet joyfully that the Kingdom is come. We are no slaves to sin, no longer doomed to death. We are beloved children of God, called to Life and Light. Our Jesus is both Savior and King!  Jesus said - "Do this in remembrance of me!"  

 When we share the Lord's Supper, we will pray to go again to the Cross, the altar where His sacrifice changed our destiny, where He tore down the barriers that kept us from God's Presence, where the authority and hope of the new Kingdom was released. and made possible. As you walk through these closing days of Lent, when you take the Cup and Bread in Communion, when you sing of the Empty Tomb - pray as Jesus taught  - "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10, NIV)

Here are words from the Word. Lord, inspire us to live in the ‘Kingdom Come!’

"Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God." (Mark 1:14, NKJV)  

"For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." (1 Corinthians 4:20, NKJV)

New life, new dedication, healing, hope – this is the Kingdom Come.  Has the kingdom come to you?

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King Of My Life I Crown Thee Now

King of my life I crown Thee now

Thine shall the glory be

Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow

Lead me to Calvary

Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid

Tenderly mourned and wept

Angels in robes of light arrayed

Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept

Let me like Mary through the gloom

Come with a gift to Thee

Show to me now the empty tomb

Lead me to Calvary

May I be willing Lord to bear

Daily my cross for Thee

Even Thy cup of grief to share

Thou hast borne all for me

© Words: Public Domain

More than a little magic

For 50 plus years I have been a Christian, a disciple of Jesus.  For me that is much more than stating my agreement with a religious doctrine or being part of a church.  It is not just about my culture or the holidays I celebrate. 

“Christian,” to me, is about trusting the words of a Man about knowing God. That faith, a response to the Spirit of God, allows a divine life to enter me, making me spiritually alive. I am, through faith and by grace, a child of God. That gives me reason to live differently – to love, to know real joy, to forgive, to hope for an eternal home. The ‘wisdom’ that forms me is found in Jesus Christ.

John tells us a story about the powerful Word of Jesus. A royal official found Jesus and begged him to come to heal his dying child. Jesus appears to brush him off, challenging him with words that seem so insensitive. In the 4^th chapter of the Gospel we read this: “Jesus put him off: “Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle, you refuse to believe.” But the court official wouldn’t be put off. “Come down! It’s life or death for my son.”  The man was asked to think about his faith. Was he just looking for a moment of magic or was he ready to completely trust? Did he only want momentary relief from the pain in his life or was he ready to make real change?

So, what happened? "Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed." (John 4:50-53, NIV)   

That man’s faith is evident in one simple phrase:  The man took Jesus at his word.

• Is your faith integral to your life or does ‘faith’ exist apart from your day to day decisions in life?
• Do you actually believe Jesus is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’  deeply and profoundly so that His words shape who you are and what you do? 

To answer those questions, we must not just think about the words we sing in church on Sunday or the thoughts that come our way in some inspired moment. We should look at our responses to difficulties, the priorities in our time management, the allocation of our resources. A disciple follows the Master. He does what he sees his Lord doing, learns the patterns and values of the One Who leads.

After He had taught the amazingly revolutionary truths in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7) Jesus closed this way.  As you read this word from the Word, I invite you to engage in reflection. “Do I take Jesus at His word?” And, then choose the Way of the Lord – for life here and eternal.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock." (Matthew 7:21-24, NLT)

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Abba, I am pulled from Your wisdom and ways

by the glitter of my world, by a ‘wisdom’ shaped around Self.

Help me to hear, to listen, to understand –

And then to do what You say.

Spirit of God, gift me with vision that sees past today.

May Your promise of a home in Heaven never be far from my mind.
Lead me on, a faithful disciple.

This I pray so that You will be evident in my life,

shining brightly in me and through me,

not just in the big moments, but in the ordinary interactions of the day.

In the Name of my Savior and Master, Jesus, I pray.

Amen