Washed Away

April 5, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

 Paper is such a common item today. Writing paper is inexpensive. Notepads are given away by businesses. We rarely concern ourselves with throwing away or recycling paper.

This was not always the case. In Biblical times, paper as we know it didn’t exist. Parchment was the most common used material used for writing documents. However, it was expensive. It was made from animal skins, but it was not tanned as is leather.
Because of its expense, it was often used multiple times. This was made possible because the inks of that day did not contain acid as inks today. Therefore, all one needed to do in order to reuse a parchment was to wash off the ink and let the parchment dry.

This was often done when a debt was paid. The debt was simply washed away. The record was cancelled.

What a picture of what God does with us. In Isaiah 43:25, Isaiah writes the words of God, “I—yes, I alone—am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” (NLT)

And centuries later, Peter, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke these words, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, ” (Acts 3:19, NIV84)

The message is simple. Jesus took the record of our sins and wiped it clean. When we trust in Him, we are forgiven. Our sins are washed away.

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The Cross Not the Scales

April 1, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

Because of recent events, there has been much interest in the religion of Islam. Sales of the Islamic scripture known as the Qur’an have been record setting. Many people have wondered about the differences between Islam and Christianity. We both believe in the one God of the universe. We both claim Abraham as our spiritual ancestor. So, what is the difference?

 

 

John Stott, in his book, Authentic Christianity, states this one critical difference. “The repeated promises in the Qur’an of the forgiveness of a compassionate and merciful Allah are all made to the meritorious, whose merits have been weighed in Allah’s scales, whereas the gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales.”

The Cross is the one critical difference between Christianity and all other religions. All other religions admit that the human race has a problem with sin, but none have a solution that is so complete and final as the Cross. With all other religions, one must wait until death to see if you made it. One has to wait until that final breath to see if the scales will tip in their favor. The guilt and shame are never wiped out. There is no certainty of hope in life.

But the Christian’s forgiveness was settled once and for all on that Cross. No more guilt. No more shame. Just joy, peace and everlasting life. The Cross is the difference. It is the difference between Christianity and all other religions. It is the difference between sin and forgiveness. It is the difference between life and death. It is the cross and not the scales that make the difference in not only in our future but in our lives today.

 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”  (Ephesians 2:8–9, NLT)

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Hope In the Cross

March 31, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

The Russian author and Pulitzer Prize winner, Alexander Solzhenitsyn spent several years in a Soviet prison camp doing hard labor. He was sent there because of comments he made about Stalin and the conduct of the war.
He tells of a time in the camp. After months and months of working twelve hours a day and being depleted physically and worn out, he said the doctors started predicting his death at any time. One day he was shoveling sand, and he became so weary that he said he decided he would just put his shovel in the ground and lean against it and take a few seconds of rest. He knew that doing so would surely result in a beating and, that a beating would probably kill him. He was so tired that he didn’t care. He propped his body against the shovel and gave up.
Immediately another prisoner came to his side. The man took the shovel and in the sand scratched the form of the cross. The man immediately covered up the cross because the guards were coming and would beat them if they saw it.
But Solzhenitsyn said that in those five seconds of looking in the sand and seeing the cross filled him with hope. He took the shovel and went back to work, not because of fear from the guards or beating, but from strength of hope, a hope given to him by the cross.

Christ never meant his form of death to become merely decoration. It was meant to be, as it was to Solzhenitsyn, a source of hope. It is a source of hope because the instrument of the greatest tragedy became the symbol of the greatest victory. The place where God was the weakest is where He showed His greatest power. And because of His strength, we find strength.
All of us will face times of hopelessness and discouragement. The difference for us in those times will be where we look. If we look within ourselves or to those around us, we will lose heart and give up. But if we look to the cross, like Solzhenitsyn, we will find the hope even in the midst of the most hopeless times.

“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, NIV84)

Have You Ever Been Betrayed?

March 30, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

“While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ” (Matthew 26:47–49, NIV84)

Have you ever been betrayed? If so, you know that you can never be betrayed by an enemy or a stranger.
The only one who can betray is one who can get close enough to kiss. The one you trusted. You didn’t just trust them the way you trust the delivery person or repairman to come into your home. You trusted them with your heart. You opened your soul to them. You shared your dreams. Your shared your wounds. You trusted them with things that were precious to you.
You let them into your life and they turned on you. Dropping your dreams into the trash. Gouging your wounds with betrayal.

What did Jesus feel with Judas’ embrace. Was Judas’ breath warm or cold upon His cheek as Judas kissed Him? Did the memories of the meals they shared and the miles they walked together flash before Him? Did Jesus feel the pangs of future wounds as Judas called out, “Greetings, Rabbi?” Was the wound of betrayal deeper than those of the Cross?

Have you ever been betrayed? Then you know how deep that wound can be. You know what Jesus felt on that loneliest of nights. But most of all you have a bond with our Lord. He knows and understands the wounds of your heart far greater than you imagined.

Have you ever been betrayed? Then only He can heal those wounds. For only He understands how deep they are.

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Finishing Line or Starting Line?

March 29, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

Many people see the cross as the end. They see it as the end of a struggle. It is the end of the ordeal they have to go through or the end of a struggle they have had to endure. Too often, it is something that signifies the end so we can get on with our lives. We see it as something we must face before we get to go to heaven. It is something we have to get out of our way, so that we can deal with more important issues, more pleasant things. For far too many people, the cross is something we avoid because it signifies an end.

The fact that when Jesus was on the cross, he uttered the words, “It is finished,” seems to enforce the idea.

Yet, when Jesus spoke to his disciples about the cross, He told them it was not the end but the beginning.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Mark 8:34 (NIV84)

Jesus was telling them and us that life does not end with the cross. Instead, life does not, in fact it can not, truly begin until we take up our cross. The cross is not the end, but the beginning. It is not the finish line, it is the starting block for us. Until we take up our cross then we have not begun to live this life of faith. Until we shoulder our cross, we have yet to experience the fulness of life Christ promises.

Which is it for you? Is the cross something you pick up at the end or is it what you start with? Is the cross of Christ our end or our beginning?

Come Awake!

March 28, 2011 in Daily Faith, Videos with 0 Comments

HE’S THE ONE!

March 26, 2011 in General with 0 Comments

The judge glared down from his bench at the prospective juror. “And just why it is,” he asked, “that you don’t want to serve on this jury?”

The man replied, “Well, judge, I’m biased. One look at that man convinced me that he is guilty.”

The judge scowled and replied, “That man is not the defendant, he’s the District Attorney.”

Did you know that the same sort of situation happened to Jesus? He had every right to be the prosecuting attorney, but He chose to be the defendant. The one who had no sin had every right to point our transgressions out. He could have convicted us of all of our failures and disobedient actions, but instead He chose to take them upon Himself and bear the guilt and shame that were really ours.

During this time of Lent, when we think about Jesus’ death upon the cross, we need to remember that He died for OUR sins. He took OUR place and He died OUR death.

I am glad that we have such a God who would give us such a Savior.

In His Place

March 22, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

. Maximilian Kilbe

In February 1941, Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest, was arrested by the Gestapo for harboring Jews and sent to Auschwitz. Kolbe was assigned to Barracks 14 where he continued to minister to his fellow prisoners.

One night a man escaped from Barracks 14. The next morning there was tension as the ranks of phantom-thin prisoners lined up for roll call in the square. Afterwards, Commandant Fritsch ordered the dismissal of all but Barracks 14, who were forced to stand still in the hot sun all day long. By evening the commandant would make a lesson out of the fate of this miserable barracks. “The fugitive has not been found. Ten of you will die for him in the starvation bunker!” he screamed.

As the ten were chosen, a cry rang out from one of the men chosen, “My poor children! My wife! What will they do?”

Suddenly there was commotion in the ranks. A prisoner had broken out of ranks and volunteered to take this crying man’s place. It was Father Kolbe. The frail priest spoke softly, even calmly, saying, “I would like to die in place of one of the men you condemned.” The commandant ordered it done, and the ten were marched to Barracks 11 where they would spend the last of their days.

Franciszek Gajowniczek was the prisoner whose life was spared. He survived Auschwitz and for 53 years—until his death at age 95—he joyously told everyone about the man who had died in his place.

As we go through this time of Lent, we must remind ourselves that we were once under a death sentence. Yet, one came forward and offered to take our place. Jesus Christ died in your place. He gave Himself on the cross so that you could go free.

Franciszek Gajowniczek joyfully told everyone about the man who died for him. Could we do any less.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8, NIV84)

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Because of Him

March 18, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

. Roger Maris

On September 8, 1998, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire made history by hitting his 62nd home run of the baseball season. It was an emotional moment for four people sitting in the VIP section of the stadium. They were the grown children of Roger Maris, the man who hit 61 home runs in 1961 to establish the record.

The children of Roger Maris were an important part of the celebration that night. Yet none of them had played a Major League baseball game in their lives. Maris’s children did not receive special attention because of what they had done, but rather because of who their father was. He had made it possible for them to be present and honored because of his achievement years before.

There will be a day when we will sit with the saints cheering on the faithful. (Hebrews 12:1) There will be that day when we will sit at the heavenly banquet feast that God has prepared for us. (Matthew 8:11) And not a single one of us will be there because of what we have done. We will be there because of another’s accomplishment.

Years ago, Jesus Christ made it all possible because He died upon the cross for our sins. He willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice for us. Because He shed His blood, we live. We will be there, not because of what we did, but because of what He did. We will be there, not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

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New Blood, New Life

March 17, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

. Demi-Lee Brennan

In January, 2008, a story made the rounds about a 15-year-old girl in Australia named Demi-Lee Brennan. Brennan became the world’s first known transplant patient to change blood types from O negative to O positive, taking on the immune system of her organ donor. Her body’s ability to accept a new liver – and then produce new blood cells on its own – has left doctors mystified.

The rare phenomenon now means Demi-Lee no longer has to take a cocktail of anti-rejection drugs for the rest of her life.

The blood stem cells in Brennan’s new liver invaded her body’s bone marrow, taking over her entire immune system. She now has an entirely different kind of blood—blood that welcomes life, rather than carrying death.
“It’s like my second chance at life,” Brennan says.*

Demi-Lee’s doctors call her change “a miracle.” A transplant not only extended her life, but changed it. The transplant transformed her basic source of life.

There is another miracle of which we need to be aware. As human beings, we are under a death sentence. We have broken the holy law of God and we are condemned to consequences of our actions. Yet, because of the cross of Christ, we have hope. His blood has been applied to our lives. His sacrifice was not just a legal transaction that sets us right. It is even more. It enters in to our lives and changes our very being.

His blood not only is exchanged for ours, but his blood transforms the very DNA of our lives. He didn’t just fix us, He changed us.

That’s truly a miracle.

Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”   (Hebrews 9:14, NLT)

*sources:
 
 

 

www.reuters.com and www.news.com.au

   

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