A Day to Remember

This Monday is Memorial Day in the United States. It is also known as the “Unofficial Start of Summer” as most Americans have the day off from work and school. It is common to grill meat outside and have friends and family over; in general, have a good time.

And there’s nothing wrong with this. I’ll be doing this with my family and we all look forward to it every year. We’ll be grilling steaks and potatoes, having cake decorated as an American Flag. I’ll probably play catch with my sons, definitely lounge around the backyard and enjoy the day.

But I will also share with my sons what Memorial Day is really for – the reason we have this day in our nation’s calendar.

It began as “Decoration Day” by freed negro slaves in 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. They had created a cemetery near the place where many Union prisoners of war had died and were buried in a mass grave. Out of gratitude – it is said – of the soldiers’ sacrifice for their freedom, they reinterred the bodies and decorated the graves with flowers.

The following year cities in the Northern United States began to hold what would become yearly observances of memorial and decoration of those who had died during the United States Civil War. After World War II, Decoration Day became more commonly known as Memorial Day and in the 1960’s it was officially designated as such by an act of Congress.

Today there are no survivors of the Civil War nor the Spanish-American War. There are also no living veterans of World War I. The last veteran died in 2012.

The veterans of World War II have reached their late 80’s and older.

For World War I and all previous wars, they are truly second-hand history for us. World War II and more recent wars are still “memories.”

We must never forget what these men and women did to ensure our freedom. I say we should also thank God for their sacrifice, especially those who gave their lives during the conflicts. And that is what Memorial Day is for.

Remembering is a biblical thing. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He celebrated remembrances such as Passover and Purim. In the “Law” as recorded in Deuteronomy, God instructed His people to remember what they have gone through to get where they are now and to pass on those memories to their children and their children’s children (Deuteronomy 6:7).

This is a basic to the Christian faith: that what is believed about Jesus Christ is passed on to others, to teach and confess it to especially to children.

Memorial Day is a great opportunity to do both: to share a bit of the history of our country and to share our faith in Christ. I pray that you will do this and also have a blessed Memorial Day.

©2013 True Men Ministries.

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LiveJournal Tags: Memorial Day,Jesus Christ,remember

The Experience of Pain

“And they all lived happily ever after.”

That’s a good ending to a good story.

But is it true?

I think it is, for the most part. I think it is based on what we mean by “happily.”

For a Christian, it might mean that heaven is awaiting us. It might mean that we will live forever with Christ in paradise. It might mean that we live – in this life – with the joy of the presence of God in our life.

I’ve heard from several people that have gone through sickness or injury about how God got them through, calmed their hearts and minds. How they had a sense of peace because they could feel the presence of God with them.

But I’ve come to realize that being a Christian doesn’t mean that this kind of happiness comes automatically. Sometimes it works out that God changes your circumstances to give you happiness. But sometimes, God changes your perception of happiness to fit the circumstances you find yourself in.

I think that’s what has happened to Craig.

Craig loves to climb. He climbs with ropes carabiners, and he climbs with just his hands and feet (bouldering). He’s also really, really good at climbing – as is his wife, Cyndy and their two children.

One day Craig was climbing with a friend in Colorado and, through a misunderstanding and miscommunication, he ended up falling.

Statistics tell the story – that if a person falls 10 feet, they have a 10% chance of dying, and if they fall 20 feet they have a 20% chance of dying.

Craig fell 100 feet. Statistics tend to not lie.

But Craig did not die. He fell straight down, starting out horizontal, but about half-way down he hit a tree branch and it turned him vertical. He hit the ground practically standing straight up. He landed on his feet at nearly 55 miles per hour.

His story is told in “After the Fall” – which he wrote with Bill Romanelli.

Craig is honest about his Christian faith and where he was in his relationship with God before and after the accident.

Craig says, “I thought about how I had worked hard to fit God into my life where it was most convenient for me, and wherever there was a conflict it was as if God was just the kid I played with because he had cool toys. I saw how I had always put my faith and trust into my own body, and the fall had taken away the one thing I had put the most stock in, myself” (After the Fall, page 51).

During his recovery and rehab, Craig documents how sometimes he felt that God wasn’t there. I’ve heard this called the “Silence of Heaven” and I know from experience that it happens. Not that God isn’t there, but sometimes He’s not saying anything. I wrote about this in what I called “The Silence of Heaven.”

Craig says it this way, “But as the weeks went on [after leaving the hospital and was going through rehab], the apparent absence of God became like a huge hole. I kept thinking God would keep guiding me, and He wasn’t. Where I should have seen his hand at work all around me, instead almost every experience was a muddled collage of good and bad, as if joy and despair were waging war inside me, and to the victor would go my spirits” (After the Fall, page 80).

This is what Craig is teaching me: that while God is always in my life, and is always there through good times and bad, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to have a life that is all “sugar plums and lollipops.” Craig has taught me that life will have pain. God in my life doesn’t change that. But God in my life does change how I deal with the pain.

It helps me to remember this: because Jesus endured pain – the pain of the cross and death itself – I can deal with pain, too. Jesus forgives me all my sin and restores true life to me. Jesus restores the life God intended for me to have. In doing this, Jesus never promised that I wouldn’t have pain or trouble or disappointment. He promises that I will have Him! And He promises that He’s preparing a place where all that stuff will never be experienced again – heaven.

Thank you, Craig, for reminding me of this!

Not Why. Rather, What For?

Peter was in a place he never imagined he would be.

Those three years seemed to go by in a blink of an eye. Yet, that day on the beach seemed like a lifetime ago.

He and his brother fished all night, catching nothing. In the morning, an itinerant preacher came by and asked to use his boat to preach from. After the sermon, a miraculous catch of fish, and then Peter heard the words of Jesus he would never, ever forget.

“Follow me, I will make you fishers of men. Do not be afraid.”

Afraid? Peter wasn’t afraid of anything! He would stand up to even Jesus when he didn’t like what he was hearing!

But then the betrayal by Judas, the arrest by the temple guards, and the farce of a trial at the High Priest’s house.

This man who earlier wasn’t afraid to confess boldly that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of Living God, cowered in fear before a servant girl. All she did was ask him if he was one of Jesus’ followers.

Three times, Peter ended up denying he even knew Jesus.

Then the crucifixion and the bitterness of living through that Saturday with the knowledge that he had all but nailed Jesus to that cross.

Yes, all that changed the next day. Jesus was suddenly there! The tomb was empty – he had seen it was empty – and Jesus was there with him in the upper room that afternoon!

Then Jesus was gone. Peter saw Him ascend to the heavens.

Peter mulled that over for 10 days.

He gathered again with his brothers and sisters in the Upper Room. Suddenly a loud sound, like a rushing wind, and what appeared to be tongues of flame!

This was it! The promised gift! Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit and this was it!

This man who stood up to the Son of God, then cowered in fear before a servant girl, now found himself standing before a crowd of thousands.

“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.”

And when he was finished speaking, the Holy Spirit converted over 3000 people – the Christian Church was born and set into motion!

Ah, those were heady days for Peter. But now he finds himself in a very different place. Chained to a wall, in a damp and dark Roman jail. His death sentence was delivered and he was waiting for his own crucifixion.

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials….”

Peter didn’t ask, “Why?” As in “Why me?” Rather, he focused on “What for?” For what reason do we suffer? What will be the good in my own death on a cross?

“…so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

When you go through tough and terrible times, it is only natural to ask, “Why me?”

But I challenge you (and myself!), by the power of the Holy Spirit, to ask instead, “What for?” And to know this answer – to give God glory so others may know the hope that you have within you!

Jenny’s Story

I’ve been looking for something. It isn’t really something I lost but something I never really had. I don’t want to go into the details, but I grew up in a typical family. Nothing really out of the ordinary. But after I moved out onto my own, I found I really needed “completeness.” Its hard to put into words, actually. There was something missing in my life. Maybe you know, or have known, what I mean. Some people call it a longing, a search for meaning, whatever. All I know is that I’ve been looking for it for a long time.

After a while – I don’t know when, really – I began thinking of it in terms of what I want instead of what I need. Maybe I never actually thought of it as a need. At any rate, I’ve searched for something to fill the want. I’ve searched in places I’m not proud to admit. Love, drugs, drink. I’ve searched in all those places for what I wanted – without really knowing exactly what it was I did want. At first I did find what I wanted in them. They filled me with something I didn’t have as a little girl. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t into hardcore stuff. Drugs were never really my thing. I wasn’t a falling-down drunk, and I only had slept with those I really loved. Pretty average stuff, really.

But after a while, I realized that nothing really satisfied me. I wasn’t really getting what I wanted. I still couldn’t put my finger on what it was, exactly, but these things didn’t get it for me.

It was about this time I started to really learn about Jesus. Now before you tune me out, hear me out. I’m not one of those who tell their story of strife and woe and then I found Jesus and he made me all better and my life is full of joy all the time! I don’t knock those who have experienced it like that, but it isn’t my story.

One of my friends took me to church with her one Sunday. The pastor talked about the hope that can fill a person’s life – a hope only Jesus can give. There was no flash from heaven, no fire in my belly from a massive conversion experience. But this hope from Jesus intrigued me. I went back the next week and he talked about it again. I kept going, rarely missing. What I was hearing was comforting. I heard about faith and hope and love. I heard that Jesus died and rose from the dead for me. That all my sins were forgiven. That all my longings would be satisfied in Jesus. The pastor didn’t present this as if it was some one-time, instantaneous solution, either. Jesus’ hope and peace and grace were life-long gifts. I realized that this was what I wanted. I was searching in all the wrong places. I was searching for the wrong things. It wasn’t about what I wanted but rather what I needed. Somehow Jesus knew and He gave it to me.

Is everything perfect now? It sure would be great to tell you it is, but it isn’t. Life is better, though. I have a satisfying relationship with Jesus and brothers and sisters in the faith at my church. Jesus makes the difference because He took my sins away. And He continues to take my sins away as He fills my need. My life isn’t perfect (really, what is in this world?) but it is more fulfilling with Jesus as the center of it.

Constant Change Is Here To Stay

I recently checked out of my local library a CD called “American Spirit.” It is by the Mannheim Steamroller and also features C.W. McCall and the Chicago Symphony Chorus (Duain Wolfe, conductor).

Listening to music such as “America the Beautiful,” “Fanfare for the Common Man,” “Home on the Range,” and “Convoy,” brought an immense feeling of nostalgia to my heart. Days long past, when I would roam the neighborhood on a hot summer day with my friends until the fireflies (or lighting bugs) came out; watching fireworks from the lake shore; grilling chicken and hamburgers and shooting off firecrackers while the adults would sit, smoke, and talk on the deck throughout the afternoon.

Where have those days gone? Where is today’s equivalent of such music and activities?

Why do things have to change?

I’ve heard that nostalgia originally was defined as the longing for home by soldiers off to war and that it was considered a medical condition.

But today it is said that nostalgia is more a longing for a time rather than a place. Recently there has been a series broadcast on the National Geographic Channel called “The 80’s: The Decade That Made Us.”

Is it possible that some people – enough to secure six hours of expensive broadcast time – are nostalgic for the 1980’s?

It seems like the 80’s where just here. How can anyone be nostalgic for last Tuesday?

But I’m reminded – and I’m not sure if I’m happily or sadly reminded – that the 1980’s were thirty years ago. I graduated from college in 1987 – that was a quarter of a century ago. I graduated from high school 30 years ago!

So much time has gone by. So much of my life has gone by. My wife and I have been married 22 years this August. We have lived St. Louis, MO, White Cloud, MI, Mayville & Beaver Dam, WI, Upland, CA, Lake Villa, IL and now Hawthorn Woods, IL. Our oldest son will be 17 next month. Our youngest son just turned 13 last month. Our middle son is now taller than my wife and he’s 14!

So much has changed.

And that reminds me of something I read last week.

“If something changes, then something else must stay constant and unchanging behind the thing that changes, otherwise we would not be able to recognize change” (H. Peter Steeves, quoted by Steve Johnson in his Chicago Tribune article “Nostalgia seems a fading memory,” April 14, 2013).

At first, I considered that it was me who hasn’t changed. That I’m the constant and unchanging by which I’m able to recognize all this change.

But then I got a good look of myself in the mirror this morning. That notion went right out the window!

I certainly have changed. In 1983, I was 18 years old. Now I’m 48. In 1983 I weighed about 220 pounds. Now, well, now I don’t. 30 years ago I had more hair, sharper eyesight, and pain-free knees. You get the idea.

So, if I’m not the constant, what is? Certainly not the culture. Steeves goes on to say, “But if it is the culture itself that has changed, then what is it that has remained stable, that allows us to recognize the change?” (ibid).

Here’s my thought. I’ve changed. You’ve changed. The culture has changed. Yes, even the world has changed.

Kids in my neighborhood used to stay out all day – from just after Ray Rayner and a bowl of Apple Jacks™ till mom called us in for dinner. We used to fish down at the lake, walk barefoot everywhere, and, when thirsty, drank from the garden hose out back.

That simply doesn’t happen today.

So what hasn’t change? God has not changed.

One thing that I used to do 30 years ago I still do today. On Sunday mornings I go to church. I worship with my family (wife and sons as well as by brothers and sisters in Christ). I still worship God who has never changed.

There’s a passage in the Bible that says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). In other words, Jesus has never changed.

He’s the constant and unchanging by which I’m able to see all the change in my life and in the world. All the myriad of changes in the world, from Twitter to Google to iPads to Facebook had made one thing perfectly clear to me.

People desperately need the rock-solid and unmovable and unchangeable Jesus Christ in their lives. Because no matter what else has changed, sin is still ever-present. Pain, suffering, and death – caused by sin infecting this world – need to be dealt with.

And it is dealt with by the unchanging Jesus Christ. He shed His blood to take away our sin. He destroyed death with His own death on the cross. And He changed the grave into a gate leading to paradise for those who believe in Him as Lord and Savior.

Whenever I’m feeling nostalgic these days – and they are more and more frequent – I’m reminded of the unchanging Good News of Jesus Christ.

LiveJournal Tags: Nostalgia,change,Jesus,Christ,God,Bible,1980's,80's

The Day that Changed the World

Please pray with me.

Holy and almighty God, we humbly come before your throne of grace with repentant hearts. Cleanse us with the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross – an awesome event that we remember this day. In this very hour Jesus hung on the cross, carrying our sin. The world was never the same after that day so long ago.

It is my prayer that we will once again be fundamentally changed by the death of Jesus Christ. Send your Holy Spirit to us in such measure that this day of days will once again bring change into our world.

In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Good Friday, the day that Jesus Christ died on the cross, is a day that changed the world forever.

It is not the only day that changed the world, however.

There have been many days that have changed the world.

The day that the “New World” was discovered – whether it was Christopher Columbus, Leif Ericson, or someone else. No matter who “discovered” it first, that North and South America were “found” (not that they were ever lost) changed the world. Today North America – the United States, specifically, is a, if not the, world power in the world. And South America is quickly coming into its own – being the birth home of the present Bishop of Rome – the first time such a man was elected from the Americas.

Another day that changed the world was when it was discovered that the sun did not, in fact, revolve around the earth. Polish scientist and priest Copernicus is credited with this discovery which led to our modern day science and technology.

Which led to many world changing days, including July 16, 1945 – the day the first atomic bomb was detonated. This day changed the world forever – leading to the end of World War II and the space race that culminated with landing a man on the moon in 1969.

Which might possibly lead to another world-changing day – the day humans make first contact with life from another planet or star.

But none of these or any other world-changing day can hold a candle to the day that Jesus of Nazareth died on a Roman cross nearly 2000 years ago.

Before I talk about why Good Friday is a day like no other day that changed the world, I need to make sure you hear about exactly what happened on the first Good Friday.

Simply put, Good Friday is the day we remember that God who became man died by crucifixion. Jesus of Nazareth was not just some prophet or preacher in first century Palestine. He was born of a woman – Mary – but was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He is the Son of God, the 2^nd Person of the Trinity. He is “God Incarnate” – True and Fully God while at the same time True and Fully Man.

I cannot prove this “empirically” or “scientifically.” I can only point to what I believe to be overwhelming evidence: The Bible; the history of first, second and third century followers of Jesus who staked their very lives on the fact that Jesus Christ was both God and Man who died on the cross; and the billions of followers who live lives of faith in Jesus Christ today and have been for nearly 2000 years.

Good Friday was the day that Jesus – the God-Man – died by crucifixion. On the face of it, it would appear to be a mistake added to a political vendetta by religious leaders of the day added to the cowardice or ineffectiveness of the Roman governor.

But it was not. This day that changed the world forever was something else entirely.

As Jesus hung on the cross – at the end of six hours of agony – we are told this, from John’s Gospel:

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. – John 19:30

What, exactly, was “finished”? “In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:19). All that was needed to forgive our sins was finished by Jesus on Good Friday.

St. Paul put it this way, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

On Good Friday, on this day that changed the world, your sins were forgiven.

All of them.

Do you believe it?

Many people have a hard time believing this. They want to believe that their sins are forgiven, but they just can’t get past the seemingly lack of any evidence that their sins actually are forgiven. The seemingly lack of evidence that Jesus Christ actually died for their sins and rose from the dead.

It fact, it seems to make more sense to not believe it.

Certainly there is more evidence that Good Friday and all that Jesus did on that day, didn’t happen, right?

May I remind you that there was more evidence that the world was flat – until Leif Ericson, Christopher Columbus and many others did not sail off the end of the world.

There was also more evidence that the sun moved in the sky – from east to west – than there was that the earth actually orbited the sun – that is until Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo proved otherwise.

Yet, in the 2000 years since the first Good Friday, there has never been any credible evidence to suggest that Jesus Christ did not die for the sins of the world. If fact, the evidence still powerfully suggests that Jesus is, indeed, the Son of God who died and rose again to reconcile the world to God.

The most powerful evidence, to me, is the fact that this day that changed the world still changes people – billions of people today.

The death of Jesus changes us. Remember, Jesus’ death was not an accident or an act of vengeance or cowardice. It was an act of love. God’s love for you and for me.

You know the Bible passages that speak of this:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

This instrument of execution was forever changed on the day that changed the world into a symbol of the greatest love there has ever been or will ever be.

This day that changed the world is the day to remember:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

But why? And what is the big deal with changing the world, anyway? I think you will all agree with me that something in this world needs to change.

The truth is that the world is changing every day. Most of the time, not for the better either. In fact, the only unchanging constant is that there is change!

This world was once perfect. But sin changed all that, as you well know. Death got a death-grip on us and will not let us go unless something changes.

But that change will not come from within ourselves. That change will not come from a world leader. That change will not come from a court-ruling.

No, the only thing that will change death’s grip on us is the death of death itself. When Jesus died on the cross, our very lives where changed. The death of Jesus has freed us from the bondage of sin, death, and the power of the devil.

The death of Jesus on the cross made the most powerful change this world has ever seen. His death bought your heart back from death. His death gives you new life.

Now, what are you going to do with that life? Look to the cross to see how far God went to give you a new heart, a new life!

On my white board are these words, “How far will God go to get your attention? All the way to a Roman cross and a borrowed tomb.”

Jesus Christ died for you. Jesus Christ gave up His life to give you your life.

Don’t waste His death! Leave this sanctuary in a few minutes and live the life Jesus died to give you!

Love others as God loves! Serve others as Jesus serves!

Reach out to the person who is hurting. Lift up the person who is downtrodden. Guide the person who is lost.

At the end of the very powerful movie “Saving Private Ryan” Tom Hanks’ character, Captain Miller, tells Private Ryan – after so many men died in order to return him home safely to his family, “Earn this.”

Robert Rodat – the writer of the screenplay – meant, I think, “Ryan, don’t waste these men’s efforts and lives in order to save you. Live a life worthy of being saved. Make it your life’s goal and purpose to make a difference in the lives of everyone you meet.” But, of course, that’s too wordy! “Earn this!” sounds so much better!

Of course you can’t earn this (pointing at the cross). You can’t earn salvation. Like Captain Miller and all the other men who died to save Private Ryan, Jesus died before you could do anything to earn it.

St. Paul says it best, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

This is the day – Good Friday – to remember to live a life with the goal and purpose of making a difference in the lives of everyone you meet!

Jesus said, in the Gospel reading from last night, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13: 34).

That’s what Good Friday is for. That’s what we remember of this day that changed the world.

May God’s love for you in Christ Jesus, who died for you on Good Friday, change you forever to love and live for Him. Amen.

Journey to Calvary: “Death Is Destroyed”

 

“For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.” - Psalm 143:11-12

Christ is risen!

He is risen, indeed!

Alleluia!

For the sake of Jesus, because he died and rose again, God preserves our life forever.

The rising of Jesus from the dead destroyed all our foes – especially death. When we die, we will not really die, but will rest secure that on the last day, we will be raised to live forever in heaven. Our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection gives us the free gift of eternal life.

Because of all this done for us by Jesus Christ, we respond by serving him constantly. We will tell others the Good News about Jesus. We will live our lives as ones loved by God.

Christ is risen!

He is risen, indeed!

Alleluia!

Application: Please pray for me, the author of these devotions, that I may never grow weary in serving Jesus Christ and his church. Pray for your own pastor for the same.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. You are my God and my Lord. I will serve you as long as I live. Give me your Holy Spirit so that I may tell others the Good News about Jesus. In his name I pray. Amen.

LiveJournal Tags: Jesus Christ,God,prayer,Easter,resurrection,devotion