Tag Archive - Savior

The Mystery of the Incarnation

December 3, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

An elephant was thoroughly enjoying himself as he splashed about in the river. A mouse was perched on the sandy shore. It was obvious that he was disturbed about something.
The mouse yelled at the elephant, “Come out of the water at once.”
The elephant laughed and said, “Why should I come out?”
The mouse was not about to be humiliated by this mountain of flesh. He kept yelling and yelling.
The elephant realized that if he wanted any peace and quiet he had better come out of the water. Slowly the elephant lumbered out of the water and stood towering over the mouse. “Now, why did you want me to come out of the water?”
The mouse looked up and said, “I wanted to see if you were wearing my bathing suit.”

I love this story. My wife gives me that “Remind me why I married you” look whenever I tell it. But this story, because it is absurd, reminds me of just how absurd it is that God could fit into human flesh. I think it would be far easier and more easily understood for an elephant to fit into a mouse’s bathing suit.

But that is the mystery of the incarnation. God did become flesh and dwell among us. He wrapped our sinful wounded flesh around the body that the universe cannot contain and became a baby. The all powerful, nothing-is-impossible God became the most vulnerable helpless creature on the face of the earth.

And He did it just for me … and you.

How He did it, I cannot comprehend. Why He did it, escapes me. But that He did it, amazes me. And though I cannot figure it out, though it is easier for me to believe that an elephant can wear a mouse’s bathing suit, I am thankful He did.

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. ” (John 1:14, The Message)

The Punctuation of Advent

December 2, 2010 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

In Russia, a period actually saved a man’s life. The Czar had condemned the man to death and sent this telegram to the jailer: PARDON IMPOSSIBLE. TO BE EXECUTED. The Czarina, who felt sympathetic toward the prisoner, intercepted the note and changed the punctuation as follows: PARDON. IMPOSSIBLE TO BE EXECUTED. The jailer released the prisoner and he fled the country before the Czar discovered what had happened (mrcoward.com).

That is what Christmas does for us. God moves the period of our lives and brings grace into our lives. What was impossible for us to do ourselves. Is now reality through Christ.
Through the history of the human race, we human beings have tried to find pardon and forgiveness for their lives. We have tried everything from trying to be good enough to belittling others to make ourselves look good. The end result is always the same. Pardon is impossible.
But what is impossible for us is not with God. He moved the period in our lives. Not only with our pardon, but in every aspect of our lives, God can move the period. He can bring not only pardon, but hope, joy, peace and life.

This Advent, start letting God move the periods of your life. Let Him decide what is possible or impossibe. You might just be surprised at just what is possible.

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ” (Matthew 19:26, NIV)

The Joy of Forgiveness

May 18, 2010 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

According to an often told story, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series, once decided to play a practical joke on twelve of his friends. To each he sent an anonymous telegram that simply read, “Flee at once . . . all is discovered.”
Within twenty-four hours, all twelve had fled the country.   Evidently, they all had something to hide.

Most of us do have something to hide.  We have some secret we don’t want discovered?  We have regrets, real and imagined.  We’ve made bad choices.  We live hoping that all will never be discovered.  Guilt tugs at our souls, nags our minds and saps our spirits.  In fact, I’m convinced that most of us live lives robbed of peace and joy because of this.  What can we do?
There are just two answers.  One,  we can go on just as we’ve been doing.  Hoping that we can keep up appearances.  Hoping that no one will find out.  Letting our past drain our present and future of joy.  Or two, we can confess to God and receive His forgiveness. The first answer fails miserably, the second is our only hope.
God doesn’t want you to live in guilt and shame.  He doesn’t want your life empty of peace and joy.  He wants you to live in the joy of forgiveness.  He wants to free you from the chains of the past so that you can experience the fullness of His life today.

“If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”
1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)

By Our Hands

March 24, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

Hollywood star and director Mel Gibson felt called by God to make his film The Passion of the Christ, a portrayal of the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life on earth. Although the film has been criticized for being anti-Semitic, Gibson has never pointed a finger at the Jews. Instead, he says all of us are responsible for Christ’s death.
In the movie, Gibson portrays this in a remarkable way. While Gibson’s face never crosses the screen, we do see his hands once. They are the ones, with spike and hammer, nailing Jesus to the cross.*

Too often we think of the Cross of Christ as an ancient historical event. We think of those who nailed Jesus to the cross as calloused soldiers following orders. Yet, when we finally realize that it was our hands that held the hammer and the nails, we can begin to understand the power of the cross.
When we realize that it was our sins that put Jesus on the cross. It was for our crimes against God that He went through all that He suffered. When we see that there is not any difference between us and those soldiers, then we can experience the joy of the cross. That He did it for us, for me. That He did it because He loved us.

“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ” (Isaiah 53:4–5, NIV)

Known By His Scars

February 25, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

. 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)

Cutting Up the Cross

February 23, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

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)

At the Cross

February 21, 2010 in General with 1 Comment

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)

No Greater Love

February 19, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

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)

DANGEROUS CROWD

February 17, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

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)

Deeper Magic

December 24, 2009 in General with 0 Comments

C. S. Lewis

Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.
Isaiah 29:14 (NIV)

Ours is a living language. Words change. They change spelling. They change meaning. Words are created or coined. Words we once used become obsolete.

One word that has changed drastically is “magic.” Because of its relationship with superstition and deception, as well as it relation to evil supernaturalism, one hesitates to use it. It seems too cheap, too fake to use at Christmas. It seems its age of innocence and purity is gone.

C. S. Lewis redeemed the word “magic” for me. He qualifies it with the adjective “deeper.” He distinguishes the evil from the good. In his classic book, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch uses magic, but Aslan, the story’s Christ figure, knows the deeper magic.

Christmas is magical as some people say. There is the spell of lights, carols, wrapping paper, holly, and ornaments. It enchants the young and the young at heart. But Christmas also has a deeper magic. A magic that transforms. There is one specific miracle that captivates me.

“The Word became flesh.” (John 1:14)

Another work of “deeper Magic” is that God becomes human flesh.

The word “became” is not only a word of entrance but also one of beautification. We use it with clothing. We say, “that new coat becomes you.” Or “It is so becoming.”

By the very act of becoming flesh Christ began the redemption process. Redemption was not just done on the cross. It began in the cradle.
He took sinful human flesh and pronounced it worth the presence of God.

Note that it never says man became God. All that the flesh can produce in its own strength is sweat and the odor of the flesh’s product is a commentary on its sufficiency. We spend a great deal of time and energy trying to make God like us. Making Him suit us. But it will never work.

There was a group of people in the early church called Gnostics. They did not believe that Jesus actually became flesh. To them He was a ghost of sorts. They believed that God was so holy He wouldn’t get His hands dirty by actually becoming one of us. But they forgot one important truth. He could never redeem us until He first became us.

The magic of God becoming flesh. The deeper magic of God. Taking on our flesh so that He could bear our sins. All of which allows us to become like Him.

Behold the mystery, the magic of God.

Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank You for a deeper magic. Thank You for Your Son becoming flesh and blood just for us.
In His blessed name, Amen.

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