savior

The question is often asked, “What would you do if you only had 6 months to live?” Most people talk about spending more time with family and going and doing things they’ve always wanted to do…checking things off the so called “bucket list.” Let’s change the question slightly to say, “What would you do if you knew the world was going to end in 6 months and Jesus would return?” While most of us may say we would do some of the same things as if we knew we personally would only live 6 months, I would hope some of us would also say we would tell other others about our Savior in Jesus which is our word to describe him today. As we discussed in our small group this week, we often don’t want to think about what will happen to others if they don’t know Him. If we do think about it we often just think they won’t go to Heaven and maybe not even think of the alternative or just think of Hell as a dark place. While I won’t go into any details here, the Bible tells us many times Hell is more than just a dark place and somewhere we shouldn’t want anyone to go.

We see really good examples in John 4:1-42 with the Samaritan women at the well telling others about Jesus saying “come and see” and then in Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch the rulers of the synagogue asked if they had any words of encouragement, and they had the bravery to tell the story of who Jesus was through referencing the Old Testament scriptures Jews knew by saying, “Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised.” in Acts 13:23.

As has been the focus of some of many recent posts, we are living in really crazy times right now. When people observe how you are reacting to all of this what are they thinking? Are they seeing peace in your heart that God has perfect plan and is in control? Or are they hearing you complain? Are they hearing you are worried and anxious? Are they even hearing you say something like, “If (fill in the blank) gets elected/re-elected it’s going to get really bad, and I’m not sure what will happen to our country and world!” While we are all imperfect humans and can be guilty of this (I know I am), we really need to think about the personal trust we have in God and then in turn the impact our thoughts and words and ultimately actions have on both believers and especially non-believers speaking with and observing us. Charles Stanley said, “Basically, there are two paths you can walk: faith or fear. It’s impossible to simultaneously trust God and not trust God.” What is the condition of your heart? What is the level of trust and hope you have in Jesus for the future?

Paul’s relationship and trust in Jesus was such that he could confidently say in 1 Timothy 4:10, “For this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” Despite how hopeless our life, this country, or the world looks due to sin…we should all strive to be able to say the same. When we do, we will not only be able to confidently tell others about our Savior and that if they seek Him too it will not only bring peace to their heart today, but it will also affect where they will spend eternity. Many will begin to even ask how and why you are so calm and confident despite your personal challenging circumstances or despite the turmoil of the current times.

Once the woman at the well went back to tell others, they came and saw Jesus. And they said in John 4:42, “…..It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. People will start to observe and begin to “see” God in their lives. Knowing our Savior will not only change the hope they have on this side of eternity, but it will change where they spend the other side of eternity.

Revelation 21:4 says…

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

My prayer today is that you take a few minutes to listen to this song and have the hope that Aaron Shust describes, as well as share that hope you have in our Savior with others….

Man of Sorrows

Most of us are familiar with the Disney classic Aladdin and the legend of a genie in a magic lamp granting 3 wishes to the person who finds and rubs it, especially with the recent remake and also the emergence of Disney Plus. If there were such a lamp and you were lucky enough to find it, what would you do if you had that much power? Even if you would use that power for something good to change the world and mankind, would it be the first thing you would do with your power? Would you ever even think of helping someone who had directly disobeyed you which hurt you deeply? Much like the fortunate person to find a lamp with a magic genie like Aladdin, God has all power. We know from Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve brought sin into the world by eating from the tree God told them not to and thus directly going against His one direction, God not only immediately provided for them through skins to clothe them (Genesis 3:21) when they realized they were naked only because of their sin, but He also immediately promised a Savior in Genesis 1:15 to help mankind defeat Satan and death and bring us back to Him.

Let me pose another question…..if you made a decision to help save someone who directly hurt you, would you be willing to go through much hardship and pain to do so if you could get the same result without it? God chose to save us and to take the pain upon His Son Jesus. He also chose to do so in the most humbling way possible. Through the prophet Isaiah, God tells us Jesus was a “man of sorrows” in Isaiah 53:3 who was despised and rejected.

Jesus came in to this world the son of a carpenter and young virgin, not a king and queen. Jesus and His family were rejected from the beginning, there was no room at the inn so he was born in a stable, not a castle, and placed in a manger, not a bed. As He became a man, we know nothing about His earthly home leading us to believe it couldn’t have been much. From Scriptures, we know He became hungry and thirsty. He felt the pain of losing a friend in Lazarus and cried. He was rejected by those in His own hometown. He was betrayed and given to the authorities to be killed by one of his 12 closest friends and followers, Judas. The remaining 11 then ran, abandoned Him, and hid when He was captured. One of His other closest friends and followers, Peter, denied he even knew Him. Then, despite seeing His mighty works and raising others from the dead, another of His closest friends, Thomas, refused to believe He was raised and had done what He said He would. In all of this, we have not even mentioned yet He was beaten and tortured to the brink of death and then was executed in one of the most gruesome and painful ways our world has ever known. No doubt He was a “man of sorrows.”

When we have a bad day, week, month, or are in some of the deepest valleys and toughest, most painful seasons of our life, we must remember we have a God and Savior who empathizes, knows, and cares about what we are experiencing because He experienced some form of the same pain. He didn’t have to, but He did. If we think we don’t deserve what we are going through, we can remember Jesus definitely didn’t deserve what He went through…all for us nonetheless. If we now think about the honor, power, and glory of Jesus, we might picture Him on a throne sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, but we can be thankful while He was on this Earth…He was a “man of sorrows”…all for you and for me…so that our pain could be temporary and not eternal.

Savior Baby

Nineteen years ago, Adam Nash was born. His birth was meticulously planned and while his parents always wanted another child, he was brought into the world with an additional purpose: to provide cord blood to his older sister, dying of Fanconi Anaemia. It was a medical success, and since then there have been more children conceived through IVF, carrying specific genetic makeup to provide for sick siblings. Isn’t science mind-blowing? As you can imagine, this brought up a lot of ethical and moral questions. News articles, interviews, books and movies have all followed these cases and told their stories. They’ve coined these genetically designed children as Savior Siblings and Savior Babies.

I’ve only read a few articles, am not an expert or speaking from a specific position. I am so grateful that I’ve never had to weigh options like this to save my child. The articles I’ve read span in language, from “win-win” to “commoditizing children”.

When we come to Luke 1:31-33 we find Mary, being informed that she will give birth to the Son of the Lord God. We don’t know exactly when it was revealed to Mary that this meant he was the Messiah and Savior (Hebrews 10 gives some additional insight). God came to earth, in perfect flesh with a body to make atonement for our sins. The planned Redeemer was born to walk with us, teach us, and die for us.

As we enjoy our Christmas celebrations and see the nativity sets with baby Jesus in the Manger, host Jesus Birthday parties, and rejoice with song and be merry… let’s also remember that He came for one purpose. For you and for me.

Our family has been doing a daily devotion together of the Names of Jesus. He’s the Way, the Root of David, the Good Shepard, the Alpha and Omega, to name a few of the twenty-nine name. As we’ve been reading about each of these, I’m humbled at the fullness of Jesus as a human and all the while coming with the purpose to reunite me with God. To secure my eternity in heaven through the redemption of my sins. The picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to his Father to take the cup from him shows his flesh. The fully human side of Jesus knew the suffering he would endure on the cross. He was born that night in the stable, completely aware of the physical and emotional anguish he would go through.

Baby Jesus in the manger, is our Guide, our Friend, our Healer, He was born to be our Savior and our Sacrifice.

Not an April Fools’ Joke

After Jesus died and was buried, the priests and Pharisees went to Pilate and asked to secure the tomb until the third day. Pilate granted the request by sending “a guard of soldiers” and said to “make it as secure as you can”.

Roman soldiers were known for their precision, brutality, training, and being well committed to their assignment (or face severe consequences). We’re not talking about clown cops. These were tough dudes who didn’t mess around. Remember the brutal torture (scourging) from Friday? If you’ve seen “The Passion of the Christ”, you know what I’m talking about.

Except the guards were no match for God’s plans.

²And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. (Matthew 28:2-4)

This brief account strengthens my own belief in the resurrection. No one was going to be able to steal the body. No one was going to roll away that stone. No one would dare attempt to overtake the guards.

We know that Jesus lived and his miracles were well documented. It is documented that he died on the cross and just to be sure, the soldiers pierced him with a spear (John 19:33-34). There were witnesses to the burial as well.

Up to this point we can say he was an amazing man. Humble, giving, peaceful, a good teacher, and even a miracle worker. All these are great qualities however without the resurrection, he would have been just another dead human.

He Has Risen!

⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:5-6)

The Old Testament foretold of him long before these events occurred and we must choose to believe it or deny it.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6)

Jesus walked out of that grave. In his death, he was the sacrifice for our sin. In his defeat of death, he proved his worthiness as a savior and allows us to run out of our own graves that we’ve dug through our sin.

Doubters Welcome!

What will you choose today? Doubters are welcome so start with a simple prayer as one who seeks. He knows your doubts so why not share them with him right now?

Jesus said,

⁷“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

Mindset

I would venture to say that a fair number of us reading this either played sports or music at some point in our lives. As I read Ephesians 4, I’m so thankful for the playbook or sheet music God gives us as the blueprint for how to live our life. The Word is full of this, but another great chapter that parallels this is Romans 12. In fact, if you are looking for a good resource, our small group did a Bible study by Chip Ingram called True Spirituality on how to become what he calls a Romans 12 Christian and it could have just as easily been about becoming an Ephesians 4 Christian.

Kurt Dorner is the Chief Development Officer with our Central Illinois Northwestern Mutual office, and he is also someone I am blessed to call a mentor and friend. Kurt’s mantra is “Better Every Day” which I absolutely love and reminds me of Ephesians 4. Kurt embodies a “growth” mindset. Just over a year ago I read a book called Mindset by Carol Dweck which changed my life and hopefully will result in changing the life of my family and those I mentor and lead. Carol talks about how most of us have a “fixed” mindset which means we see a limit or cap on things. We think we are either good or bad at certain things. For example, many say, “I’m bad at math.” This holds us back in life. Carol discusses that the highly successful have a “growth” mindset. They believe with practice and focus they can improve at anything. They also view nothing as failure and everything as learning or growth with no fear of the future and believe there is no cap on what’s possible.

Ephesians 4 rings of a “growth” mindset. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul states, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” In Ephesians 4:12=13 he says God gave us leaders to “equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ until we attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” In Ephesians 4:15, he says, “…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ.” Seriously?! Be like Jesus? He was without sin! I’m guaranteed to fail, right?

I have been a believer my whole life being blessed to grow up with my family raising me in the church (yes..there were still questions at times). However, nearly all my life I would say I still carried a “hardness of heart” Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:18. Not only was I hard on myself with a “fixed” mindset focusing on my failures, but I also focused on and judged other for their sins thinking they were worse than mine without much empathy for the pain or troubles they may be experiencing now or have experienced in the past. Over the last 6 years, I have developed a relationship with Christ through more time in prayer, more time in the Bible, and in close community with fellow believers in a small group. I can see a renewing of my mind Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:23 and Romans 12:2. I can see a softening of my heart as my relationship with Christ grows as Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:24-32. I notice myself being more forgiving of others transgressions because Christ forgave me (Ephesians 4:33). Please take note that the verbs I used all included “ing” on the end of them. I’m nowhere near where God calls me to be, and I never will be. I sin every hour and likely every minute of every day. I desperately need a Savior in Jesus because even just one sin separates me from God without him (Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23). It’s about the process of improving though by striving to be like Christ not to earn grace, but because of his grace. It’s about a “growth” and a “better every day” mindset.

In Ephesians 4:1, God urges us through Paul’s writing to step into this calling to grow to be more like Christ. He knows we will never reach it by our own works on this Earth. 2 Cor 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we may become the righteousness of God.” Here in Ephesians 4:7 he says, “But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” We will mess up many plays in the playbook of life, and we will miss many notes in our musical performance. However, 1 Corinthians 15:57 says,“But thanks be to God! He gives us victory (or a we could say a standing ovation) through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

All we have to do is believe in Him. For that free gift of grace I say God is good…wait…no…God is GREAT…all the time!