Why God, why?

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ~ Matthew 27:46


There He was hanging between heaven and earth, just as the Scriptures had said He would. For this reason He came to this sin infested planet to begin with. Having no sin of His own to die for He readily and voluntarily allowed this body to be scourged and spit upon and then nailed to a Cross to be lifted up that all men may be reconciled to an angry God. Anger that stems from the effects that sin had brought upon His favorite creations. Being deceived by the adversary, His human beings, those made in the image of Himself, were turned against Him. His anger could have led to total annihilation of the race yet instead, He chose to preserve us. Taking His anger out on Himself, by way of His guiltless, sinless, Son; Jesus. Is it any wonder Jesus asked this question? After all what had He done to cause His Father to do this to Him? All the time knowing why His Father, for a brief period of time, had to leave Him alone on that blood stained wooden Cross. Sin cannot exist in the presence of the Father; the Holy God. It is consumed in His presence and the body that it dwells in is consumed also. Jesus experienced separation from the Father; I know He is a part of the Trinity and what we know theologically is hard to accept logically. However the flesh and blood body of our Lord contained our sin and it was that body that He sacrificed in order that we could be separated from sin forever. What has all this got to do with us? Have you ever been in a situation, or maybe in one now, where you felt God had or has forsaken you? Could it be there is sin hiding somewhere in your body? Some unforgiven sin of which you have not repented? Forgiveness you need to give and have not given? Perhaps some jealousy or envy? Maybe a little "secret sin" buried deep in an old trunk in the basement of your heart? Jesus knows what you feel like. He did what He did so that you do not have to experience it forever. Look to Him, cast your spiritual eyes upon Him, and then crucify the sin that is separating you from the Father. Give up your spirit to Jesus just as He gave up His to the Father.

Oh Baby!

15 Some people brought even their babies to Jesus so he could touch them. When the followers saw this, they told them to stop. 16 But Jesus called for the children, saying, "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a child, or you will never enter it." ~ St. Luke 18: 15 – 17 (NCV)

I can remember years ago when politicians used to make a point of kissing all the babies in the crowd they could reach. People would bring their babies to them to be kissed hoping they would get on camera. Today with all the security issues they face, politicians had to up their protection and we do not see it as much as we used to. I use this illustration that you may have some idea what it was like that day for Jesus when people were bringing their children to Him that He may touch them. Hundreds were there wanting to see Him or be touched or healed by Him. When parents began bringing their infants to Him the adults did not see any benefit in having Him touch babies. There were people who needed healing and the babies were taking His attention away from them perhaps. Listen closely to what Jesus says, read it several times if you need to. “The kingdom of God belongs to people who are like children. I guarantee YOU, if YOU do not accept the kingdom of God as if YOU were a child, YOU will NEVER enter it.” (Emphasis mine of course). Babies have to be carried to get where they go. They spit up milk on you, they make noises that wake you from your sleep in the middle of the night, they emit smells that would even choke a buzzard, and they mess up diapers constantly, but we count them as precious and love them dearly! Now put yourself in that category in relation to God. We must be willing to be totally dependent upon Him to take us where we need to go, to put up with our crying, to feed us when we are hungry, to protect us from danger, and to wash our dirty feet. Now you understand what He meant when He told big old Nicodemus; “You must be born again.” WE need to be born again too if we are to enter the kingdom of God. Babies cannot drive themselves home; they depend on us to take them there. We cannot take ourselves to heaven either; we must depend on Jesus to take us there.

A Praying Man: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On a warm, cloudy Wednesday on August 28, 1963, Dr. King ascended the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to deliver his seventeen minute “I Have A Dream” speech to over two hundred thousand people that had gathered for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A man of God, an ordained Baptist Minister, a visionary, a family man, and of most importance; a praying man. Dr. King knew the importance of having a personal relationship, not just a casual acquaintance, with the Lord Jesus Christ. A man that understood that hate and discrimination could not be overcome by carnal, (physical), weaponry. “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” (I Have A Dream). The Apostle Paul put it this way: “The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way – never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 The Message). Both men were praying men. Both lived and preached in a godless society, risking their lives to proclaim the message of the Gospel; not just in words but in deeds. Both men realized their strength came from prayer. What a lesson for us! We learn from the persistence, patience, and perseverance of these men of God the source of their strength; a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Both of whom today are there with Him! Prayer is more than just a formal form of religious ritual. Prayer is as Briscoe Darlin once said to Aunt Bee; “It’s your heart talkin’ to my heart.” Prayer is the heart and will of God revealed to His children. The Father to child talk that encourages, corrects, motivates, and assures us of our faith. The faith we have in Him. You may never give a culture changing speech to hundreds of thousands. You may never find yourself in a riot defending the resurrection of Jesus. But you fight the same spiritual battles as those who do. Paul also said; “For in Him we live and move and have our very being.” (Acts 17:28 NKJV). Without prayer, constant communication with the Father, we are left to our own decisions and devices. Prayer is to the soul what oxygen is to our bodies.

Quit Worrying! You Will Go!

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
(John 14:1-3 KJV)

These verses are usually read at funerals. I have read them many times at the funerals of believers. They are not just for the dying or the dead, Jesus said this to encourage us who are alive and well right now. Let me set this up for you, go back into Chapter 13 and pick it up at the Last Supper. After leaving the room and heading into the Garden, Jesus told His disciples He would be leaving them. Peter asked Him where He was going, indicating he would follow Him, even if it cost him his life. Jesus told Peter it was not time for him to come yet. In fact, He told Peter that he would even deny knowing Him before daylight! Then Jesus spoke these words to him. He said it to reassure Peter and us. Would you allow me to put them in my Southern tongue? “Listen guys, I know you are all worried about Me leaving you, but listen to Me. You have trusted God all along; now trust Me when I tell you that all of you will one day come to where I am going. Right now while you are here doing what God needs you to do, I will be up there getting your place ready! Then when it’s your time to come, I will personally come and get you. None of you will be left out, so quit worrying!”

So quit worrying! If you are in Christ today you can be assured that you will go to heaven! Yeah, you will mess up a time or two, as Peter did, and all of us have, but if you have put your trust in Christ, He is preparing a place for you too!

Christmas Is Past: Time to Grow Up

And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people. [Luke 2:52 The Message]


Here we are in the first Monday of 2011. I watched Hannah as she walked up the sidewalk after dropping her off at school this morning thinking about how tall she has gotten! Our twins that I used to write about will turn 21 this year! I am getting older but you will have to ask my wife if I am maturing!

Christmas is all about the baby Jesus. Dr. Luke not only tells us of His birth but he also reminds us that just like the rest of us; He grew up. Luke first takes us to the stable and we see Jesus in a manger. He then jumps ahead eight days and allows us to listen in as Simeon and Anna the prophetess confirm who He is. St. Matthew tells us the Magi came to worship Him after that, probably within the first 18 months. The family then went to Egypt on the command of an angel and may have been there for about a year or so. Then St. Luke warp drives us about 10 years into the future and we are in the Temple listening to the twelve year old Jesus as He confounds the professors and the PhD’s asking them questions and blowing them away by what He knows! Luke gives us only one sentence to fill in the past ten years of His life; “The Child grew, became strong in spirit, was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him!” It would be over twenty five years before we see Him again at the Jordan River coming out of the crowd to be baptized!

Our verse today tells us that during that time He grew up and matured! Let 2011 be the year we mature and grow up too; in Christ!