Category: Easter

Lent Spent with the Psalms Day One

imageWe’ve all spent time in the psalms. They are a source of challenge, comfort, and promise for us today in the same way that they were for the people of Israel. At times pleading and others praising, God and His incredible works remain front and center in this poetry. The Church enters the season of Lent today, a period of pointed reflection on the Lord that moves day by day toward the celebration of Easter. We meditate on the bloody and horrible cost of salvation, how the perfect Seder lamb had to be sacrificed so that you and I might be saved. It is at the same time a sober and celebratory time.

Psalm 85 expresses our need and desire perfectly. The psalmist pleads,

Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us.

Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. (vv 4-7)

Begin our walk through the desert toward Calvary by asking yourself, what am I contributing to prolonging God’s anger?  What must I shed on this trip through the wilderness? Our goal is to reach the cross rid of the dead weight  and dross that interfere with our relationship with the Savior.

Grace and peace to you.

 

image wolfgang staudt

The Day of the Risen Lord

In a couple of hours, the sun will rise above believers huddled in the cold mountain air. We will be seeking hope, a new day in which lives of promise are once again lived. Many non-believers and cultural Christians will be among us this morning and we have a singular opportunity to show them something that they may not see the remainder of the church year, the lives of truly transformed followers of Christ. Just as Elisha told the King that he was about to see a miraculous outpouring that reversed a famine (2 Kings 7:2), there was doubt. Those who see us celebrating this day may look favorably on us for a moment, but there will still be doubt in their minds the other 51 weeks between now and next Easter. As the Lord rose and showed the world beyond a doubt that there was hope in Him, today is the day in which we should all decide that every moment from here on out will be devoted to showing the hope that lies within us. We must not wait until the last day to discover that God looked upon His Church as a modern Sardis.

He is Risen!

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Holy Saturday Vigil

Lent ends we stand with the Disciples, wondering if we have correctly placed our faith. Though we know how the story ends, we benefit from examining our faith in the unseen. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor 4:18

Cross in the Darkness
Cross in the Darkness

Lent 2009 – 3 Final Steps to the Cross

PeterSteps

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you,” And all the other disciples said the same. (Matthew 26:31-35)

And so, Peter ultimately remains self-deluded. In a life altering moment, he tells the One whom he has acknowledged as The Christ that he will never deny him even when all others may. Does Peter honestly believe that or is he demonstrating an ignorance of the true condition of his heart? We are not told, but given our experiences with him, it wouldn’t be far fetched at this moment in history to lean toward an inner ignorance. Peter may have actually convinced himself that his loyalty to Jesus was pure and strong despite his numerous stumbles in the preceding three years. Do you think he was surprised at his first denial?

If any incident in Peter’s life puts a mirror up in front of us, it is these moments of denial. If asked when we are clear eyed and caffeinated, no Christian would perceive of a moment of stress when they would deny their love and allegiance to the Lord. Think hard though. Denial takes many forms beyond simply answering no to a question of association. Was there a moment when you didn’t speak up and should have? Has there ever been a time when being a Christian became an inconvenience and you put it in a secondary position? Failed to speak the truth when challenged by a non-believer?

Denial takes many forms. If you’ve read this far, it’s unlikely that you can claim ignorance. Are you unwilling to suffer the consequences of claiming Christ? The answer looms large this close to the Cross…

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Lent 2009 – 4 Final Steps to the Cross

PeterStepsAfter a day of parables and teaching, Jesus and the disciples withdraw from public ministry to spend time in fellowship and rest. This time for rest, especially before an important ministry effort, is clearly a critical component and yet, we allow worldly standards to define our work ethic. To halt action for rest in the middle of a ministry is called into question. The expectation is that the pastor is given his one day off per week and he is to be available all of the rest.

The Spirit speaks to us in the quiet and we must be intentional about seeking out the necessary moments of rest and restoration. Be accountable to God more and people less. Follow the habit of your lord.

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Lent 2009 – 5 Final Steps to the Cross

PeterSteps

Tuesday of Passion Week

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts our of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)

Peter must have been still mulling over Jesus’ previous scorn toward the Pharisees who made a great show of their religiosity but who possessed no true faith in their hearts. Pointing out the sacrificial giving of the widow, the Lord makes the same point a second time. While others give for show a small portion of their wealth, the widow was fully committed. She gave all that she had to live on as a gift to the temple treasury, trusting in God to provide for her needs. Sacrifice is the name of the game.

Are you all in?

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Lent 2009 – 6 Final Steps to the Cross

PeterStepsMonday of Passion Week

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing  but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. The he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:12-14)

What an odd little vignette the disciples had just witnessed. Why would the Lord curse something so seemingly innocent as a fig tree, especially because He and they both knew that figs were not expected this time of year? As they considered this act, they followed Him into the temple where he again cleaned the temple, casting out those who would treat it like a cheap bazaar. Now, Jesus’ curse made sense. When Jesus speaks to and of the fig tree, he is directing his ire at the Temple and Israel. The ‘season’ spoken of in Marks recollection, is not Spring but the time of the Kingdom of God. He speaks prophetically of the Temple that he approaches and its lack of fruit, despite having the appearance of being fruitful.  

As we approach the cross with our Lord, we should carefully examine our own fruitfulness. Do you have leaves and make an appearance of your devotion to Christ but bear no fruit?

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Lent 2009 – 7 Final Steps to the Cross

PeterStepsThe next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the King of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, you king is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.” (John 12:12 – 15)

We cannot turn away now,  the Cross looms large with all that it means. For some Christians, the celebration of the Triumphal Entry colors the solemnity of the week that follows. They want to shout Hosanna and remember the humble Lord descending in strength in Jerusalem only to avoid the humiliation of His Passion.

Walk with the Lord, all the way to Cross. Don’t turn away, don’t deny him. Carry your sins for yourself up the rugged wood of the cross and hang it there as you view the sacrifice made on your behalf.

Know the pain to know the joy.

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