March 28, 2013 - Matthew 27:45

            From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  Matthew 27:45

            I am reminded (and will do a seriously shortened and fractured version) of a message made famous and popular by Tony Campolo – It’s Friday, and Jesus was painfully on the cross.  He had been brutalized, beaten, spat-upon, ridiculed, and deserted, and it’s Friday.  Yet while on the cross, He entered into the worst and most painful of all judgments – separation from His Father, and while all the sin of all humanity for all time came on Jesus in those dark and dismal hours, He was totally alone and He died.  It’s Friday…..but Sunday’s a’comin’!

            There have been times all through my life when I felt as though I was in a type of an “it’s Friday” situation.  Everything seemed bleak, dark, and confusing, and I felt deeply alone.  It felt like a living death; a death on the installment plan as it were (for you older folks who know what that is!).  It felt as though I was dying little bits at a time.  It was Friday in my world and darkness came over all my land.  But Sunday was a’comin’!

            This Easter, I am remembering how God is with us, how He never left us, and how He brings us back to renewed life in Him.  There are those times when everything looks like it’s dying and we feel so alone.  But Sunday is coming, and we can celebrate and remember Jesus’ resurrection.  We can celebrate that we were never really alone and that we have been strengthened by going through the dark times.  Yes, darkness does come over the land of our lives, but please remember and celebrate that God is the God of Resurrection!  He is the God of making things new!  Celebrate and be glad that just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will do the same for each one of us!

            May our Father in heaven grant each one of us His peace, His joy, and His love! 

            Happy Easter!

March 21, 2013 - John 1:3

            “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  John 1:3

            Jesus was intricately and intimately involved with the creation of all that we see, hear, touch, smell, taste.  Even all that cannot be seen, yet our spirit and soul are aware of, came into being through Jesus, the Word.  In the beginning, it was God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that created all things.  Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness…’”  So not only was Jesus involved with the total creation of our universe, He was so involved in the creating of humans that we were made in His image.  We have something of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit built into each one of us.  Jesus can truly be called our Maker!

            There are times when I start thinking that I am more than I really am.  In those times, I believe that I am really ‘something’ and I have a haughty or proud attitude!  Eventually, I realize how small I really am, especially when I consider Him, who is my Maker and the Creator of all.  Take some time right now to consider the vastness, yet the intricacy, of what God has created.  And remember, nothing was made without Jesus.  That’s BIG!  That’s truly AWESOME!  He is AMAZING!  And the Word, who created all things, became a man, just like us, and He served us, pouring out His life for our sake.

            Questions to consider: What does it mean to you that Jesus – the Word – created all things, including you?  When you consider this, where does that leave you?  How important are you to Him?

            Prayer:  Father, thank You for creating all things through the community of the Trinity.  It is amazing to me that the Word, through whom all things were created, came as a human to be among us.  Thank You.  Amen.

March 14, 2013 - John 1:1

            “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  John 1:1

            A fresh start!  A new beginning!  In praying about where in the Scriptures I will turn to write the Thursday Thought, I thought that I would return to one of the Gospels.  I selected John because it is so unique in the telling of the life of Jesus.

            The Book of Matthew begins with a genealogy before telling the story of Jesus’ birth, while Mark jumps right into the beginning of his earthly ministry, and Luke starts by recounting the stories surrounding Jesus’ birth.  John, on the other hand, begins in a manner very similar to the Book of Genesis, which says, “In the beginning God created….”  John starts by saying, “In the beginning was the Word…”  He tells us that Jesus was present with His Father in the beginning of all creation, and He will continue to tell us during our journey through this Gospel that Jesus is still present and is now re-creating and restoring human lives.  Not only was Jesus – the Word – with God in the beginning, but John states that Jesus was God!

            Think about what would happen if I substituted my name in the place of “the Word.”  It would read, “In the beginning was Bill, and Bill was with God, and Bill was God.”  Any of us could sub in our name in there.  Pretty silly, isn’t it?  Yet this is much of the struggle that you and I wrestle with much of the time!  Who is really God in my life?  Who is really on the throne of my life – me or God?  John gives us a clear proclamation right at the start of his Gospel – Jesus is the Word, and He is God!

            Questions to consider: How are you dealing with John’s proclamation, Jesus is God?  Who is really on the throne of your life?  How is that working for you?  Do you struggle with keeping Him on your throne?  What are those struggles?

            Prayer: Father, please be on the throne of my life, and help me to not struggle to get back on it.  Amen.

March 7, 2013 - Acts 28:31

            “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Acts 28:31.

            As the book of the Acts of the Apostles comes to an end, Paul is seen doing what he longed to do: to preach and teach boldly about Jesus Christ and the His kingdom.  From the start Paul sought to make each day count and knew that how he lived his life in the present had its effect on the trajectory of the remainder of his life.  He sought to serve God throughout his life, but it wasn’t until he was an adult that he discovered that his desire to prove his worthiness to God was futile.  After Paul discovered that he was to live by a freely-given and unmerited grace, he was free to surrender his life in order to bring Jesus to the Gentile world.

            As I end the writings from Acts, I am struck by the sacrificial lifestyle of Paul.  The example of him boldly proclaiming the good news concerning Jesus for the remainder of his life is very compelling to me.  I am challenged to consider how I am to live each day of the rest of my life.  Do I live my life as if this is my last day?  Do I live by Paul’s phrase, “To live is Christ, to die is gain”?  (Phil. 1:21)  It is my desire to live boldly for Jesus and to deal with the hindrances that attempt to get in the way.  It is my desire to say that I will walk in this direction, whether or not anyone comes along with me on the journey.

            Questions to consider: What would it look like for you to live “boldly and without hindrance” for Jesus Christ?  Would you do anything differently than what you are doing now?  If there are hindrances, is there a way for you to deal with them?  What will it cost you to live this way?

            Prayer: Father, it is my desire to live boldly for You.  Please strengthen me to face and deal with any hindrance that would get in the way of me serving You.  Amen.