The unpopular topic of SIN

"...Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

(Paul's letter to the Romans, Chapter 4, verses 24b-35)

Sin is not something we like to talk about much...especially not our own...but I invite you to take a few moments to ponder our sin and think about Jesus ...

It was our sin that laid Jesus low

Our sin jingled in the bag of silver that bought Judas' betrayal

Our sin flickered in the torches of the garden mob which led Jesus to the High Priest in darkness

Our sin was on the lips of Peter as he denied knowing Jesus

not once

not twice

but utterly and completely, cursing as he distanced himself from Jesus.

Our sin could be heard among the cries of "Crucify! Crucify!"

Our sin added strength to the whip that tore through His flesh

Our sin bore extra thorns on the crown pressing into His brow

Our sin was the hammer that drove the nails through His hands and feet

Our sin suffocated the breath of life from the Giver of Life

Our sin was heavier than the darkness from which Jesus cried:

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani!

(my God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?)

Alone in the darkness--our sin bore the greatest weight in the darkness of that afternoon.

Our sin was blacker than the darkness of the tomb in which he was laid.

What good could ever come from such an account of our sin?  What devastating results sin has wrought!

Yet in the darkness of that tomb, if you listen, you can hear a faint whisper...

"O sin what has happened to thy sting?  O death, where is thy victory?"

In the darkness of that tomb New Life began to stir

No tomb could hold back this Life

Death could not hold Him...sin would not have the victory!

Life burst forth...the stone of sin and death rolled back from the tomb.

New Life arose

There is victory...there is Life for all in Jesus

For he took our sin

he took our death which we all will inevitably face

But he proved that death could not hold Him, and it will not hold those who are in Him.

So come to Jesus, receive the Life that He has already claimed for you!

Abiding and Life in a Forest

Since I was a teenager the idea of abiding in Jesus has been central to my life--yet I still marvel at the paradox of the abiding life.  The beauty of grace and obedience working perfectly together is found when we are abiding in Jesus.  Without abiding there is no obedience worth speaking of.  That is a strange sounding statement--yet profoundly true, and essential for each Christian to learn.

Below is some random snippets of my reflecting on this strange yet beautiful paradigm...How the Life of Jesus comes alive in us when we are still, much like the life of a forest is most noticed and experienced when we stop and are silent. I hope it will cause you to do your own reflecting on this beautiful truth.

Be still my soul
Abide in the quiet presence of Jesus
It is here I find strength

Fix my gaze on the Author
My eyes widen and dance to take Him in
I see everything clearly when my gaze is held by Jesus alone.

As I rest, and I am quiet
The activity of Life grows in me and around me.

How can this be when I am so still?

Like a forest comes alive when I am most still
I'm invited into its life by stopping and letting it live around me
through the rustle of wind in the leaves
the rush of a stream hidden deep within the dense brush
scampering of animals in foliage
whistling of birds perched above me
the vibrations and echos of the woodpecker
the coo of a dove
the chatter of chipmunks
The Forest is Alive!

I am most alive when I am still.
I abide, He bears Life!

(John 15 --read it and do some reflection of your own on what it means to abide in Jesus)

Find Rest

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."  (Isaiah 30:15)

Have you been moving at a pace lately where the "next thing" is already crowding into your present?  Have you said (perhaps with a sense of pride) things like: "there just aren't enough hours in the day"! Or "I'm so busy I just don't have time to..."

Why do we feel like it's a good thing to so crowd our lives that we have no time?  Do we think it is pleasing to God to not rest, or to so fill every hour that we proclaim that He hasn't given us enough in a day?  Do we think our strength found in personal exertion is what God is looking for?

I've fallen into the trap many times of finding my worth and value in keeping busy.  But make no mistake, it is a trap.

God is not exalting in your strength and might.  He is inviting you to recognize your limits, your weaknesses and to trust in His Spirit.

"Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord!" (Zechariah 4:6)

When is the last time you have stopped and just returned to rest in the presence of the Spirit?  I mean really rest--not just squeeze in a moment or two for a prayer or Bible reading.

When is the last time you have just been silent with God--trusting Him to fill you and be your strength?

If it's been a while -- no guilt -- but take some time TODAY, to free yourself from the trap of not resting.  Take some time just to soak in a passage of Scripture, to go for a walk in nature, to listen and let God speak and pour into you.  This is where we find salvation, He will be your strength!

O weary soul, find rest from your toil and breathe deeply the Life of the Spirit!

A Hint of God

There is a verse in Job that each year when I come to it, I just have to pause in order to ponder the incredible statement it is making:

"These are just the beginning of all the He (God) does, merely a whisper of His power.  Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of His power?"  (Job 26:14)

The "these" this verse refers to is the creation that we observe in the heavens and on the earth.  A profound statement about who God is when you consider how little we really know about our own universe or even the earth that we live on.

There are some different numbers out there, but it seems safe to say that humans of only EXPLORED less than 5% of the waters on our own earth.  In that 5% we don't yet understand much of what we are seeing and discovering.  And there is yet 95% of the waters that we have not even explored!  WOW!

If that is the case with the water on our own earth -- imagine how minuscule the amount of the galaxy we live in has been explored -- not to mention the billions of galaxies of our universe!

Are you starting to feel "small" yet?  I do.

Yet in the book of Job, which many consider the oldest book of the Bible--and which probably found its setting around 2200-1800 BC--we are told that all of this, which can cause us to stand in such wonder is just a HINT of who God is.  WOW!

Look out your window --- or better yet go for a hike today through the snow.  Look at the sun beam through the snow covered branches, listen for the birds chirping, stare off into the sky tonight, try count the stars--imagine the wonders this universe holds...and then consider--these are just whispers from God of how great and marvelous He is!

Let His creation turn your attention to Him the Creator -- be silent, listen, for His Spirit is whispering.