Thursday, July 3, 2025

The Price of Freedom

 

I have the honor of preaching for my church this coming Sunday. Because it's part of Independence Day Weekend, I'm talking about the price Jesus paid for our freedom from sin, and basing it on Psalm 22 — an amazingly accurate description of Jesus' perspective during his crucifixion. So much so, that Jesus even quoted the first verse for all the crowd to hear.

Crucifixion scene

Here's a creative rendition of that psalm, from Eugene Peterson's translation/paraphrase, The Message:

God, God . . . my God!
    Why did you dump me
    miles from nowhere?
Doubled up with pain, I call to God
    all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.

And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
    leaning back on the cushions of Israel’s praise?
We know you were there for our parents:
    they cried for your help and you gave it;
    they trusted and lived a good life.

And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
    something to step on, to squash.
Everyone pokes fun at me;
    they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
“Let’s see how God handles this one;
    since God likes him so much, let him help him!”

And to think you were midwife at my birth,
    setting me at my mother’s breasts!
When I left the womb you cradled me;
    since the moment of birth you’ve been my God.
Then you moved far away
    and trouble moved in next door.
I need a neighbor.

Herds of bulls come at me,
    the raging bulls stampede,
Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
    like a herd of buffalo on the move.

I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled,
    every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
    of melted wax in my gut.
I’m dry as a bone,
    my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
    in the dirt.

Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
    thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,
    and lock me in a cage—a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
    by every passerby.
They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
    and then throw dice for my clothes.

You, God—don’t put off my rescue!
    Hurry and help me!
Don’t let them cut my throat;
    don’t let those mongrels devour me.
If you don’t show up soon,
    I’m done for—gored by the bulls,
    meat for the lions.

Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
    and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
    give glory, you sons of Jacob;
    adore him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
    never looked the other way
    when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
    he has been right there, listening.

Here in this great gathering for worship
    I have discovered this praise-life.
And I’ll do what I promised right here
    in front of the God-worshipers.
Down-and-outers sit at God’s table
    and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
    is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
    Don’t ever quit!”

From the four corners of the earth
    people are coming to their senses,
    are running back to God.
Long-lost families
    are falling on their faces before him.
God has taken charge;
    from now on he has the last word.

All the power-mongers are before him
    —worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
    —worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
    —worshiping!

Our children and their children
    will get in on this
As the word is passed along
    from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived
    will hear the good news—
    that God does what he says.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...There's more to think about than just being grateful for Christ's sacrifice and how it purchased a glorious future for me. Let this quote from Rich Mullins remind you of what Jesus said about taking up a cross in order to follow him: "Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours."


Thursday, June 26, 2025

Where Is the Love You Said Was Mine All Mine?

 

rivener  -  n. a chilling hint of distance that creeps slowly into a relationship -- beginning to notice them laugh a little less, look away a little more, explain away their mood like it's no longer your business -- as if you're watching them fall out of love right in front of you, gradually and painfully, like a hole in the radiator that leaves your house a little colder with every passing day, whose only clue is a slow, unnerving drip - drip - drip. [Middle English riven, to rend, to cleave apart. Pronounced "riv-uh-ner."] (From John Koenig's The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows)


Is it possible to experience riveners in my relationship with Jesus? Can I be on the lookout for signs that my love is growing cold?

  • Dust on my Bible
  • Mumbling through songs I used to belt out
  • Posting the praying hands emoji and considering it the equivalent of praying for someone
  • Being satisfied with watching worship services online instead of actually attending and interacting with people who I once thought of as my brothers and sisters in Christ, but who are now just people who go to my church

It brings to mind the song by the seminal Jesus Music artist, Chuck Girard, "Return to Your First Love."

You say it's different now, then how it was before
You do your best, but you don't feel it anymore
What happened to the days when your life just seemed to flow
Miracles were happening wherever you would go

You tried so hard it seems to do the righteous thing
But oh, the trials that came and the shadows it would bring
You went to meetings and you'd be the first to pray
You even spoke a prophecy, was only yesterday

But something's wrong, something's wrong with you
Though you tried your best, the Lord just didn't bless
You're wondrin' what to do
Return to your first love, put Jesus first again
The love in your heart you had when you first started
Could be there again
Return to your first love

You say you told your friends the things they're doin' wrong
You had a leading, yes, you felt it oh so strong
They looked so hurt, I guess they didn't understand
Since then, your counseling has not been in demand

You tried to give advice, but found you were ignored
But even though they scoffed, you still said
"Praise the Lord anyway."
And you thought Christians were to be of one accord
Is there a dull edge on that double-edged sword?

No, no something's wrong, something's wrong with you
Though you tried your best, the Lord just didn't bless
You're wondrin' what to do
Return to your first love, put Jesus first again
The love in your heart you had when you first started
Could be there again
Return to your first love


*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...The words of Jesus in Revelation 2:2-5 (NLT): "I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first. Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first."


Thursday, June 19, 2025

Does Jesus Care?

 

Frank E. Graeff's lyrics to the 1901 hymn, Does Jesus Care?, are pretty straightforward. In fact, there's no need to prosify the chorus at all. But consider how relatable his questions are.


Does Jesus care when my heart hurts so much that I can't even think about happiness and music? I feel so weighed down, and my worries stress me out to no end.

Does Jesus care when I can't tell which way to go, and I'm full of fear and a dread I can't even identify? I feel like I'm walking alone into a dark place. Does he care enough to walk with me?

Does Jesus care when I give in to temptation, or when, even though I cry all night, there's no relief from my grief?

Does Jesus care when the person on earth I love the most dies, and my heart aches till it breaks? Does it mean anything to him at all? Does he even see how much I'm hurting?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...

Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares.
His heart is touched with my grief.
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.


Thursday, June 12, 2025

Get Out of Here!

 

Look at this infographic and let it sink in.


This kind of overwhelms me.

Think of the thousands and thousands of churches in North America and Europe and compare that to the millions and millions of people living in Southeast Asia.

No wonder Jesus urged us to "pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers" in Matthew 9:38.

No wonder Jesus commanded us to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" in Matthew 28:19.

No wonder Keith Green challenged us to get off our duffs and make a difference in his song, "Jesus Commands Us to Go."

Jesus commands us to go
But we go the other way
So He carries the burden alone
While His children are busy at play
Feelin' so called to stay
Oh, how God grieves and believes
That the world can't be saved
Unless the ones He's appointed obeys
His command and His stand for the world
That He loved more than life
Oh, He died and He cries out tonight

Jesus commands us to go
It should be the exception if we stay
It's no wonder we're movin' so slow
When His church refuse to obey
Feelin' so called to stay
Oh, how God calls as He stalls
the great judgment of fire
So He can gain His greatest desire
'Cause He knows that the souls of the lost
They can only be reached
Through us
We're His hands and His feet

Jesus commands us to go
It should be the exception if we stay
It's no wonder we're movin' so slow
When God's children refuse to obey
Feelin' so called to stay
Lyrics © For The Shepherd Music


Truth is...It wouldn't be practical for every Christian in the U.S. to drop what they're doing and move to China, but:

     1.  If we're not going, we should be sending.
     2.  A person doesn't have to go to China to share the love of Jesus with those living on the same street or working in the same office.


Thursday, June 5, 2025

Is My Worship Blasphemous?

 

Do I really mean what I'm saying when I'm singing?

Bored Singer

In the book Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas explains nine different "personality profiles" related to connecting with God. Much like the popular Enneagram or Myers-Briggs personality assessment tools, he leads the reader to a deeper understanding of their own preferred path to knowing God and the different ways different people relate to God.

In the chapter on what Thomas calls "Sensates" (those who love God through the senses and experiences), he warns that people can get caught up in what their senses are experiencing without any true worship taking place:

It amazes me how casually I can sing songs of deep, almost heroic commitment....While my mind wanders, I promise to bow before the Lord, to proclaim his name to the ends of the earth, and to go so far as to die to express my faith. Yet these words may be sung with scarcely more emotion than I feel when I'm ordering a hamburger. How often do we Christians take the Lord's name in vain during worship?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...Many a hymn or praise chorus should be considered not so much a declaration of truth as a prayer of good intention. "I believe. Help my unbelief!"


Thursday, May 29, 2025

Basking in God's Glory

 

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Isaiah 60:1

Isaiah 60:1

Glory is a hard word to define, but trying certainly can bring a lot of things to a person's mind. A common image of God's glory would be the rays of light artists draw bursting around a heavenly throne.

Glory is not God himself, but a representation of His greatness; a reflection of His awesomeness.

Just as the moon reflects the sun's energy and gives the luster of midday to objects below, all of creation is a reflection of God's grace and love and glory:

  • Standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon
  • Watching a thunderstorm pass
  • Soaking in a crimson sunset
  • Hearing a baby laugh
  • Feeling a friend's arms around you and all the stress in your body melting away

Images associated with a communion service are a reflection of God's glory as well.

  • The bread … a picture of the miracle of Christmas; the Word being made flesh and dwelling among us.
  • The cup … the very life-force of Jesus pouring out as the cleansing sacrifice for sin.
  • The community of believers who remember Christ's sacrifice by participating … our connection and unity reflect the mystery of the Trinity. E pluribus unum: out of many, one.
  • The repentance for our past and our bright hope for tomorrow … a reflection of the timelessness of our Lord.

To God be the glory … great things he has done.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is... We praise you, O God, for your Spirit of light, who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen.


Thursday, May 22, 2025

Looking Like Jesus

 

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
Isaiah 53:1-3 CSB

Jesus According to Hollywood


When it comes to picturing Jesus in our minds, Hollywood has really done us a disservice. They’ve given us an endless parade of handsome actors with compelling eyes, dramatic gazes, and dynamic facial hair. But Isaiah paints a different picture. Apparently, to look at him, Jesus wasn’t all that attractive. He didn’t have an impressive form or appearance. He was like someone people turned away from.

Besides, what he looked like wasn't the point. His appearance wasn't what made people pay attention to him. What he did and what he said were the magnets.


Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”

Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:67-69 CSB

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...It would be good for you and me to also put little to no importance on our physical appearance. Instead, let's look like Jesus by living lives of compassion and service and speaking words of encouragement and truth.