In looking at Christ's death on the cross we often find the focus and the emphasis on the hideousness of the death by crucifixion. Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion, was brutal in its portrayal of Christ's death with scenes of scourging that seemed never to end. It was as if Gibson hoped to bring us to Christ in sympathy for the pain He endured and not because of who He is, God Himself.
Yet if you read the Scriptures there are only a handful of verses that mention the brutality. The emphasis is not on the awfulness of His death although the details are certainly laid out for us to read. Instead the emphasis must be on Who died? And why?
This Jesus is not just some nice kindly human being who was born in Bethlehem and lived such an exemplary life that he could die for our sins. He is far, far more. John 1:1-3 points out that Jesus is the Creator God Himself. The disciple John points out in Verse 3 that "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." John 1:10 adds this, "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. The apostle Paul states in Colossians 1:16-17 , "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."
We're not talking about some simple, kindly human being. We're talking God Himself, come down into mankind, living with us. John 1:14 "And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us...."
As children of Adam we are born in sin. Every one of us. And in our sinful condition we cannot stand before God, neither here nor in heaven. But God Himself offers us Life in Christ. At the cross, our sin penalty was placed on Christ. In exchange, his perfect righteousness was given to us. As a gift. To all who come to Him. To all who believe. To all who are His.
Sometimes I don't feel very righteous. My old sin nature still does battle with the new me. But because of the exchange taken place on the cross, God sees believers as "clean" and "righteous". When we stand before the judgment seat, we have Christ's righteousness as our own. We rest in Christ. (That does not mean that we can live the rest of our lives thinking we need never worry about our daily sin...we are commanded to confess, acknowledge our sins before God and to become obedient to our Lord and Savior, to love Him and to love each other. But we do so because God puts it in our hearts to do so...not because we think it will give us a few extra points in the eyes of God or because we hope to earn some part of the salvation already given us as a gift.)
There are those who point out who put Jesus on the Cross. Jews. Romans. Pontius Pilate. And sometimes we even concede that "we" put Christ on the cross. As if any of us could have done anything of the sort against the Son of God. As if we had that kind of power.
I refer you to John 10:17-18 wherein Jesus himself points out "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."
God is the one who initiates salvation, the one who provides for the fullness of salvation, and who does so on His own authority and for His own glory. Let no man glory in having obtained salvation on his own merit. It is God's doing, beginning to end. Let us bow humbly in thanksgiving before the cross.
Romans 11:33 and 36.
Friday, April 10, 2009
One Sign That You Spend Too Much Time on the Puter.....
.....is when you find yourself trying to click a magazine photo for a larger, close-up view.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Mountain Lions and Chemo Talk and Gratefulness
Last night I had two weird dreams.
In the first dream I was running through a soybean field (I grew up in the Midwest where soybeans and corn are the main field crops) and fleeing from cougars (mountain lions). There were numerous lions chasing me, one after another. I kept looking back over my shoulder and as one got close enough to grab me, I turned and bopped and bashed him royally with a cleated shoe. My blows were severe enough that each one was knocked to the ground and left battered and bruised and down for the count. I think I battled 5 or 6 of them before the dream ended. (Whoa! Some kind of defense! A cleated shoe??? Cleats! Like baseball or golf shoes! I've never owned a pair in my life! Where did THAT come from? But I won't complain for the shoe and its cleats surely did their work in protecting me from those lions!)
In the second dream I ventured uptown, stopped at several stores, and greeted numerous people. Upon returning home I was completely surprised that I had ventured out in public without covering my stubbly chemo hair...and not a soul commented! (Do you suppose I should venture forth and check this one out?)
Weird dreams. Very weird. Perhaps the mountain lions represent the cancer cells that the chemo is battling and bruising and defeating. Today was my third session. The nurse was very pleased to hear how well I am doing...no nausea...minimal fatigue...decent appetite most days. We did discuss the ramifications of the immune system being compromised during the 3-week intervals between treatment. The white blood count starts out on an even keel, plummets nearly to the bottomless pit, then is revived again by several daily shots which cause the count to skyrocket, then gradually lowers again to a norm. That is, they are at a norm until the next chemo session when the chems again do their work on the fast-growing cells in the body which, of course, include the cancer cells, blood cells, hair follicles, etc. And since the chems kill off those destructive cancer cells, I'm more than happy to deal with the rest of the deal.
(By the way, we would never have discovered the cancer if I had not asked for copies of my lab tests. The doc did not notice (but I DID) a higher than normal reading for one blood component, the alkaline phosphatase. It was higher than the normal range. This precipitated my doing a google and finding that this could be caused by a number of things, including gall bladder, liver disease, cancer, bone problems. I had been experiencing slight discomfort under my lower right rib when reclining so I asked for an ultrasound of the gall bladder which indicated a large gallstone. The resulting gall bladder surgery revealed the ovarian cancer. Major surgery to remove the bulk of the cancer left me in the hospital for eight days. The process of healing was slow. Now we are half way through the six chemo sessions, and I seem to be doing very, very well in terms of the effects of the treatments.) We believe this finding the cancer was God's providence, His provision, His doing. And we are gratefully looking forward to future days that we might not have had if the cancer had gone on undetected.
Today's scripture? James 5:14-15. "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him." I recognize that this is not a guarantee that God will provide instant nor even permanent healing. God often uses illness and weakness to humble us for our own good benefit. But in submitting to this verse, and asking my elders to anoint and prayer over me, God gave me tremendous peace of mind that I was under His complete and good care. I knew that surgery would sap me of strength and it surely did. But now I see us as picking up speed as we go through the physical process of submitting to medical care. God has been good to me and my family through all of this and I am truly grateful for his provision.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Ummm! The House Smells Really Good Tonight
I don't know about your house but when I bake the aroma of whatever I am baking spreads throughout the house. It is especially noticeable here in front of my computer!Which reminds me...I need a bedtime snack. Something with a little cinnamon sweetness!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Last Enemy
To Christians Palm Sunday (that's today) is the Sunday before the day we celebrate Easter or the resurrection of Christ. All four gospels mention this triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem the week before He is to die on the cross. You can read it in Matthew 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-38, and John 12:12-16.
And as we progress towards Easter or Resurrection Sunday, we ponder the work of God on our behalf. Who is this Jesus? And why is it so important to know? Looking at it from today's perspective, how could the death of a mere man on a cross 2000 years ago have any relevance to today's people? We're so modern. And self-sufficient. And so creatively inventive in all things. So what does Jesus have to do with any part of my life today?
During my childhood years we regularly attended Sunday school and church. I was baptized at age 9 and confirmed into the church at age 12. Our church held "Trinity" in its name. Our pastor spoke often of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But while my heart was earnest and I vaguely affirmed that Christ's death on the cross was the place of the forgiveness of my sins, I had no idea of the divinity of Christ. I thought, regardless of hearing sermon after sermon, and lesson after lesson, that Jesus had his beginnings in Bethlehem...in the stable...and that He lived a perfect life so He could die and give us forgiveness. It was not until I was thirty years old was my attention drawn to John 1:1-5, 14 and to the Divinity of Christ...that He was there at creation (He was the Creator God) and that He had existed from before time (He was without beginning and without end). The Divinity, the Godhood of Christ, was the very heart, the very meaning, the entirety of the New Testament (as well as the Old Testament). And I had missed seeing it!
How could I have missed that, you ask? Surely our pastor(s) had covered that doctrine? Perhaps they did. Perhaps that was the Sunday I fell asleep on my mother's shoulder. Or perhaps I simply did not understand the scriptures if they were presented during confirmation. But God's timing is perfect and He surely did bring that to my understanding in due time.
God does that, you know. He reveals truth to you a bit at a time. It doesn't happen all at once. And that is how it has been with me.
I was brought to John 1:1-5, 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Verse 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
And also to Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.."
And again in Colossians 1:13-16 "For He (the Father) rescued us from the domain of darkness (from Satan), and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Jesus) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. " And verse 22 "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach."
How can I be holy and blameless and beyond reproach? Ahhh, that is the reason we celebrate the cross. It is there that that perfect man, Jesus, died my death. He took my sins upon Himself and died for them. And in return He gives me His righteousness. In other words, my sins were imputed (put on) Him and His righteousness was imputed (put on) me. It is as if my sin was His and His righteousness is mine. When we stand in judgment before God, it will be Christ's righteousness (given to us) that puts us in right standing before God and not our own works. That is good news, because our own works can never make us clean. Our sin separates us from God but Christ's work reconciles us and presents us "holy and blameless and beyond reproach" to the Father.
Next Sunday is Resurrection Sunday and we celebrate! As Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:20-26) But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep (who are dead). For since by a man (Adam) came death, by a man (Jesus in his humanity) also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order; Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death."
Someday there will be no more death. And That is Good News!
And as we progress towards Easter or Resurrection Sunday, we ponder the work of God on our behalf. Who is this Jesus? And why is it so important to know? Looking at it from today's perspective, how could the death of a mere man on a cross 2000 years ago have any relevance to today's people? We're so modern. And self-sufficient. And so creatively inventive in all things. So what does Jesus have to do with any part of my life today?
During my childhood years we regularly attended Sunday school and church. I was baptized at age 9 and confirmed into the church at age 12. Our church held "Trinity" in its name. Our pastor spoke often of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But while my heart was earnest and I vaguely affirmed that Christ's death on the cross was the place of the forgiveness of my sins, I had no idea of the divinity of Christ. I thought, regardless of hearing sermon after sermon, and lesson after lesson, that Jesus had his beginnings in Bethlehem...in the stable...and that He lived a perfect life so He could die and give us forgiveness. It was not until I was thirty years old was my attention drawn to John 1:1-5, 14 and to the Divinity of Christ...that He was there at creation (He was the Creator God) and that He had existed from before time (He was without beginning and without end). The Divinity, the Godhood of Christ, was the very heart, the very meaning, the entirety of the New Testament (as well as the Old Testament). And I had missed seeing it!
How could I have missed that, you ask? Surely our pastor(s) had covered that doctrine? Perhaps they did. Perhaps that was the Sunday I fell asleep on my mother's shoulder. Or perhaps I simply did not understand the scriptures if they were presented during confirmation. But God's timing is perfect and He surely did bring that to my understanding in due time.
God does that, you know. He reveals truth to you a bit at a time. It doesn't happen all at once. And that is how it has been with me.
I was brought to John 1:1-5, 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Verse 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
And also to Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.."
And again in Colossians 1:13-16 "For He (the Father) rescued us from the domain of darkness (from Satan), and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Jesus) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. " And verse 22 "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach."
How can I be holy and blameless and beyond reproach? Ahhh, that is the reason we celebrate the cross. It is there that that perfect man, Jesus, died my death. He took my sins upon Himself and died for them. And in return He gives me His righteousness. In other words, my sins were imputed (put on) Him and His righteousness was imputed (put on) me. It is as if my sin was His and His righteousness is mine. When we stand in judgment before God, it will be Christ's righteousness (given to us) that puts us in right standing before God and not our own works. That is good news, because our own works can never make us clean. Our sin separates us from God but Christ's work reconciles us and presents us "holy and blameless and beyond reproach" to the Father.
Next Sunday is Resurrection Sunday and we celebrate! As Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:20-26) But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep (who are dead). For since by a man (Adam) came death, by a man (Jesus in his humanity) also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order; Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death."
Someday there will be no more death. And That is Good News!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
I Have a Confession And It's Not Funny!
I have a confession to make. In my current near-hairless state ((chemo, remember?) I've found that I resemble my brother who wears his hair in a buzz cut. We have the same head shape. Even my Mom is amazed at our twinship appearance that was previously disguised by my mop of white hair.
But that's not my confession...no, it's WORSE than that! I've found that by placing my fingers behind my ears to make them stick out to the side and by grimacing and mumbling some insane quote of that poor fellow, I look uncannily like Gollum of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (If you've never seen the movies, do a google image search for Gollum. You'll get the picture!) I kid you not. The resemblance is uncanny! This morning I appeared in the mirror behind my beloved while he was brushing his teeth and he sputtered toothpaste all over the bathroom sink while trying to suppress his laughter.
I told my beloved that I could post a movie of my Gollum impersonation on you-tube and I would be an overnight sensation. I'd probably get 165,000 hits in a single week and I'd be famous and I'd get an invite to appear on MSNBC and Fox News and the Larry King Show and who knows what else!
However, I'm no glutton for notoriety, not even of the best kind. So no pics today, folks!
I take great comfort in the fact that God looks at the heart and not at the outward appearance. I Samuel 16:7 That, and the fact that my hair will grow back. In about four months.
But that's not my confession...no, it's WORSE than that! I've found that by placing my fingers behind my ears to make them stick out to the side and by grimacing and mumbling some insane quote of that poor fellow, I look uncannily like Gollum of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (If you've never seen the movies, do a google image search for Gollum. You'll get the picture!) I kid you not. The resemblance is uncanny! This morning I appeared in the mirror behind my beloved while he was brushing his teeth and he sputtered toothpaste all over the bathroom sink while trying to suppress his laughter.
I told my beloved that I could post a movie of my Gollum impersonation on you-tube and I would be an overnight sensation. I'd probably get 165,000 hits in a single week and I'd be famous and I'd get an invite to appear on MSNBC and Fox News and the Larry King Show and who knows what else!
However, I'm no glutton for notoriety, not even of the best kind. So no pics today, folks!
I take great comfort in the fact that God looks at the heart and not at the outward appearance. I Samuel 16:7 That, and the fact that my hair will grow back. In about four months.
Friday, April 3, 2009
We've Missed The Last Three Storms But....
Rats! We've missed out on the previous three winter storms which went either to the north of us or to the south. And I was quite content to suffer through sunny days while those north or south of us were experiencing the joys of blizzardy snow. This time, however, it looks as if the storm coming in this weekend is going to hit us or at least a major portion of the road that Daughter and Grandson would be traveling to spend the weekend with us. So we've postponed the get-together for three weeks.
This potentially bad storm has put the kabosh on family plans and I am bummed! My Mom and Grandson both have birthdays this month. I love making layer cakes for birthdays and had planned to make one half chocolate and the other half white or yellow, half for Mom and half for Grandson. Of course, a belated cake will taste just as good, so we'll still do the cake even if it is a bit late. I'm not fancy at the decorating but when it is baked, I'll post a photo! Keep tuned!
This potentially bad storm has put the kabosh on family plans and I am bummed! My Mom and Grandson both have birthdays this month. I love making layer cakes for birthdays and had planned to make one half chocolate and the other half white or yellow, half for Mom and half for Grandson. Of course, a belated cake will taste just as good, so we'll still do the cake even if it is a bit late. I'm not fancy at the decorating but when it is baked, I'll post a photo! Keep tuned!
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