February
25
2010
Thomas checking the scars.
In The Odyssey, there is a scene that takes place near the end of the story. Odysseus returns home after many years of wandering. He is in disguise as an old man. At first nobody recognizes him, not even his wife and child. One night before bed, Odysseus’ aged nurse bathes him. At first, she thinks he is just a stranger; but while bathing him, she recognizes a scar on his leg. She remembers the scar from his infancy. She did not recognize him until she saw his scar.
Jesus had a similar experience. When first told about the risen Lord, Thomas refused to believe. But when he saw the scars, he knew the resurrected One was the crucified One. He knew it was Jesus. He recognized Him by His scars. (John 20:24-29)
It is the scars that make the difference. Because a savior without scars is not a savior. We like to picture Jesus meek and mild. We see Him teaching the crowds or blessing the little children or even healing the sick, but until we see His scars we could confuse Him with somebody else. It is His scars that identify Him. It is by His scars that we know He died for us.
“But he was pierced for our rebellion,crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be whole.He was whipped so we could be healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)
February
24
2010
Fort McHenry Flag Pole Anchor
Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” in 1814. The original flag measured 42 by 30 feet. It was the immense size of the flag that allowed Key to see it from his position 10 miles out to sea, following a night of gunfire.
How could that large a flag fly on a pole 189 feet in the air. The answer is on display at Fort McHenry on Baltimore’s inner harbor. There, in one of the barracks, are two oak timbers, 8 foot by 8 foot, joined as a cross.
National Park Service personnel discovered this cross-shaped support near the entrance to Fort McHenry in 1958, buried nine feet below ground. Not only did the cross help rangers locate the original site from which the star spangled banner flew, but it answered the mystery of how such a large flag could fly in stormy weather without snapping the pole. This unseen wooden cross provided a firm foundation for the symbol of our national freedom.
In our lives we struggle with storms and battles. We wonder if we can remain standing in the midst of it all. The answer lies in the foundation. Just as the cross foundation for the flagpole at Fort McHenry enabled the flag to stand firm. Our lives can withstand the turmoil and struggles of life if we have a strong foundation.
When we have the cross of Christ deep in our hearts, we can stand. When we make the cross more than an ornament for our faith, but the foundation, we can not only survive but prevail in our lives.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ”
1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)
February
23
2010
Some years ago, a 14-foot bronze crucifix was stolen from Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. It had stood at the entrance to that cemetery for more than 50 years. The cross was put there in 1930 by a Catholic bishop and had been valued at the time at $10,000. The thieves apparently cut it off at its base and hauled it off in a pick-up. Police speculate that they cut it into small pieces and sold it for scrap.
Cutting up the 900-pound cross probably brought the thieves about $450. They obviously didn’t realize the value of that cross.
We are much the same. We often underestimate the value of the cross. We like to cut the cross up in manageable and palatable pieces. We like to use it for a nice Easter decoration or a beautiful piece of jewelry. We enjoy hearing how much the cross proves God’s love for us. So, we cut out the parts about suffering and shame. We cut out any remote connection our sin might have with the cross of Christ. We chop away any responsibility our sin might have for Jesus’ death. When that happens we lose the full power of the gospel message.
Yet, when the gospel writers relate the story of the cross, the theme that runs through all the details is one of rejection. When Jesus took our sins upon himself, he was rejected by God. (Matthew 27:46)
We must be careful not to cut up the cross. We must not make scraps out of the cross’ message. If we do, we miss the true value of the cross. We fail to experience it’s power.
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. ” (Isaiah 53:3–4, NIV)
February
21
2010
His full name was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, but most people refer to him only by his first name, Rembrandt. He lived between 1606 and 1669 and during those brief years, he became one of the greatest artists in history.
If you were to look at Rembrandt’s painting of “The Three Crosses,” your eyes would be drawn to the center cross on which Jesus died. Then as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you would be impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting and catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. This figure is Rembrandt himself. The painting was not only a work of art but a statement of his faith. He was telling the world that it was not only the sins of the world that nailed Jesus to the cross, but his sins too.
Rembrandt realized a very important truth. It is easy to get so focused on the cross that we forget that we had a part in this divine drama. We must see ourselves at the cross. We must realize our part in the crucifixion of our savior. Because until we do, we will never experience the joy of the resurrection.
As we go through this time of Lent, let us remember that we are in the painting as well. We each had a part. But we must also remember that is good news because it means our sins are paid in full.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. ” (1 Peter 2:24–25, NIV)
February
19
2010
German composer Felix Mendelssohn’s grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, was not a handsome man. In addition to his short stature, he also had a hunched back. When he met a young lady named Frumtje, Moses fell madly in love, but Frumtje was repulsed by his appearance.
Finally getting the courage to talk to her, Moses asked, “Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?”
When she said yes, Moses said, “In heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord said, ‘But your wife will be humpbacked.’ Right then and there I called out, ‘Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.’”
Frumtje reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand, and later became his devoted wife.
When Jesus carried the cross to Calvary, He carried the sins of all of us on His back. He did this because God knew that for us to carry our own sins would be a tragedy. God loves us so that he could not bear the thought of this so He sent His Son to take our sins away from us and put them on Himself. There can be no greater love than this. Let us devote our lives to the One who took our sin, our pain, and our suffering and put it on Himself.
“How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (The Message)
February
18
2010
When Louis XII became king of France, he made a list of all those who had been his enemies and persecutors in the years before he obtained the throne. Before each of these names he placed a large black cross. When word of his act spread, those on the list quickly fled the country, fearing punishment or death.
When Louis XII heard of this, the king had them all sought out and brought back to the palace. He then told them that he had put a cross beside each name, not as a symbol of death, but of the cross of Christ. It would be a constant reminder and example for him to do as his Lord had done on the Cross, saying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
The enemies of Louis XII fled from him because they saw the cross beside their names as a sign of death. However, the king put it there as a sign of forgiveness and life. They ran in terror from the very act that brought them life.
The same is true for us today. Many of us see the cross as punishment and death. We run from it because we think it means death. We think it means the end of our lives. However, through Christ, the cross has become a sign of forgiveness and life. God places a cross by the name of all who have faith in Christ, not as a sign of despair, but of hope and life.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Colossians 2:13–15 (NIV)
February
17
2010
Three year old Shawn accompanied his dad to church on Easter. The father wanted his son to understand the meaning of Easter so he tried to explain the significance of the cross which hung at the front of the church.
The father said, “Jesus died because people nailed him to the cross.”
The little boy’s eyes widened as he scanned the church. He then asked his dad, “You mean THESE people?”
It is too easy to think of the death of Jesus as a distant historic event. We tend to think of this horrible event as happening way back .then and done by those barbaric people. We overlook why Jesus died.
As we begin this time of Lent, let us remember that He died for OUR sins. It was for OUR salvation that He gave His life because it was OUR sins that nailed Him there. The cross in our sanctuary reminds us of two important truths. First, that we are a dangerous crowd, capable of sin and death. And second, that we are a forgiven people because Jesus paid for our sin on that cross.
So, when you’re sitting in Church Sunday, remember as you look around: you’re sitting in a dangerous crowd, but you’re worshiping a great Savior.
“But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own!.. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.”
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT)
February
9
2010
Some years ago, the comic strip “Small Society” showed a man talking to his wife. He is saying, “Of course you’re my valentine. Of course I still love you. I’ve just stopped talking about it.”
I believe that this is a problem in a lot of marriages today. It’s a problem because, when we stop talking about it two things happen. One: We fail to remind the other person how important they are to us and two: we fail to remind ourselves how important the they are to us.
Our spouse needs to hear the words of love. They need to know we value them and we bless them when we use words of affection and value. But we need to hear ourselves say them as well. When we speak these words, they imprint themselves on our brains and our hearts. The words serve as reminders of who this person is and who we are as well. We are forgetful creatures and we need the reminder.
I think this is a problem not just in marriages, but in other relationships as well. Parents and children need to talk about love with each other. They each need to say words of love to each other, and they need to hear themselves say them to the other.
We need to talk about our love for God. We need the reminder of how important He is to us. We need to remind ourselves that we do love Him.
The fact of the matter is that those who truly love can’t stop talking about it.
February
1
2010
Alex Haley, author of Roots, had a picture in his office of a turtle sitting on top of a fence post.
When you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, you know that he didn’t get there by himself; he had to have some help.
That’s why Haley kept the picture in his office. He said, “Anytime I start thinking, ‘Wow. Isn’t it marvelous what I have done?’ I look at that picture and remember how this turtle—me—got up on that post.”
We consider it admirable to be independent. We want Frank Sinatra’s song, “I Did It My Way” to be our theme song. Is it because we want all the glory and the praise?
The truth is that none us became who we are by ourselves. All of us had parents. All of us had someone to change our diapers. We all had teachers who taught us. We’ve had examples, good and bad, that have directed our lives. And, whether we believe it or not, we can look back and see the fingerprints of God all over our lives. In other words, we didn’t get on top of the fence post by ourselves.
We need to realize that humility is not a weakness as many try to portray it. It is a powerful strength that change our world. Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, makes the observation that one of the characteristics of great companies is that they have leaders who are quick to share the credit for success. Companies with prideful leadership never seem to make it to the top with lasting success.
Remember, humility is not a nice religious ideal that is not practical in the real world. It is what frees us to live the full and contented life we been wanting to live all along.
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)
I am reading
Twitter: gprice
- Happy Birthday Hula Hoop! The Hula Hoop was patented on this day in 1963.
- Powered byWordPress Twitter Widget Pro