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As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
Here’s a math question for you. If a train leaves Philadelphia traveling east at 55 miles per hour how long will it be until it gets there…to the east that is? Don’t spend too much time thinking on that one. The answer is easy. It won’t make it. East just keeps going.
You can go north but eventually you will reach a point where you are going south. You can go south but, again, only for time and then you are going north. We have a north pole and a south pole to designate the furthest possible point we can go in that direction. We don’t have an east and a west pole because they never, ever meet!
That is the word picture the Psalmist wants each of us to have when it comes to our sin. Some of the sin in our lives is the result of intentional acts against others. We sin in the things we say without thinking. We sin by not doing the things we know we should do. We sin by making well thought out choices and by making flippant choices without thinking of how they will affect others, or ourselves.
Sin happens. And with each sin, each wrong choice, each rebellious act we take, there are consequences to our sin. Some of those consequences are physical ones which will affect us our whole lives. Some affect us relationally and can destroy marriages, friendships and careers. But all sins affect us spiritually.
Our Father in Heaven loves us dearly. But much as he’d like to, he can’t have a relationship with us if there is sin in our lives. It drives a wedge between us. That’s why he sent Jesus. Jesus came to remove our sin as far as the east is from the west. But the east and the west can never meet. They are forever the same distance from each other. In the same way our sins and their punishment are removed to an eternal distance by his mercy and grace. We may carry some of the consequences of wrong choices with us, but our punishment has been forever removed!
Fly as far as the wings of your imagination can take you. You can never find the place where a trace of your sin in God’s mind. It’s gone! Since your sin is so far removed you need never fear that it will be brought back to haunt you. You are free!
Don’t let the enemy try to get you to think differently. Don’t let others drag the memory of your sin before you to accuse you. Don’t let your own mind feel defeated because of your past. Live in the freedom of Christ’s eternal forgiveness.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I make so many mistakes. It seems like every time I turn around I’m hurting someone by my words or actions or doubting your promises to provide or taking matters into my own hands and making bad situations worse. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you that my sin is eternally removed from your mind. You are a great and wonderful Savior. Amen.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4
Have you ever noticed those advertisements that boast about how good life can be? They sell a product that can take away those extra pounds in a just a few easy weeks. You can earn thousands, even millions of dollars with this ‘proven method’! You can look younger, smell better, love more often, get the house you always wanted and have more toys than any of your neighbors if you just follow a few simple formulas.
Now, have you ever seen the people who make the claims? How do they look? Tired? Worried? Overweight? Do they look clean-cut or homeless? How do you think they smell? Taken a shower lately or been nowhere near water or soap for few weeks? Are they missing any teeth or showing any signs of bruising?
Most likely your wondering what is going on in my head. The answers to those questions are, “Of course not!” (That is unless you’ve seen some advertisements I’ve not yet seen!) The people that push this product or that product to make our lives completely comfortable and worry-free are well groomed, happy looking and successful. You certainly wouldn’t want to buy something to make your life better from someone who looked sad, depressed, angry or suicidal.
If the Apostle Paul were to do an info-mercial, most likely no one would take him seriously. When he wrote his letter to the Philippians he was old, tired, beaten up, not in the best of health and behind bars. Imagine someone like that telling you, on camera, how good God is and how he can give you joy and freedom!
That’s precisely the message he give us though. Most of the time when we are sick or worried or angry or in physical pain, we focus on our pain, not on happy thoughts. But Paul tells us to keep our mind focuses on the good things God has done for us. Sometimes we have to look hard for the silver lining, but it’s always there. Grace tells us that our outlook on life isn’t based on what is going on around us; it’s based on what is inside of us. Our outlook on life will be one of peace and joy only if we turn everything over to Jesus.
PRAYER: Holy Father, I worship you today for the fact that even though I am enduring many struggles in my life, you are in control of all of them. I worry. I get angry. I try to find someone to blame for all the bad stuff that happens to me. Empower me by your spirit to focus on all the blessings you’ve given me and not on the pain I’m in. I resolve from this day forward to have the attitude of joy that Paul speaks of in Philippians. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4
It wasn’t enough to watch from heaven. Your car died. Your kids have just told you that they don’t believe in God. You just lost your job. You can’t sing in church anymore. It’s not that the music is bad. In fact you like the music. You just can’t sing the words anymore. They’ve become hollow syllables, empty letters, and meaningless chatter.
You’ve tried to get the feeling back. You’ve prayed. You think about reading the Bible every day. It’s hard to know if it’s your own failure that has driven you to this point, or if it’s the pain that others have inflicted on you. You’ve been scolded one too many times. You’ve been reminded once too often that you’ve failed.
“Is it worth another try?” you ask yourself as you lay on your back staring at the ceiling and hoping that sleep will come soon to give your mind some rest. The same situations keep replaying themselves over and over in your head. What if you’d made a different choice? What if he didn’t hit you that last time? What if you’d told her she couldn’t go to the party? What if…?
The loneliness and despair surround you like the darkness of your night. You hope sleep comes but fear the dawn because you know the problems will still be there and you aren’t sure where you will get the courage and strength to go one more day.
Then a still small voice comes from the dark corners of your troubled mind. It’s a verse…no a phrase really. You don’t remember where it’s from. It was part of a Sunday School lesson years ago. “I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” That was it, right. He’ll never leave. He promised to be with me…always.
As sleep finally begins to creep in the words keep reminding you, consoling you, healing you. It wasn’t enough for him to watch from heaven. It wasn’t enough for him to ‘understand’ your plight. He knew that the best way he could help you was to come to live with you.
Jesus has felt the pain of every broken relationship. He’s cried with you each time you’ve been lied to. He’s worked through the feelings you have had of failure even though he himself never failed.
That’s what grace is about. It’s about the son of God coming to earth to feel your pain. To endure your failures. To feel your loneliness. He did all of this because he loves you and desperately yearns for a relationship with you. Jesus is passionate about you! It wasn’t enough to watch with sympathy from heaven. Jesus loves you so much he came to earth to experience the pain you feel in life.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I don’t understand how you, as the Son of God, can feel all the feelings I feel. I don’t understand how you can love someone like me who seems to find new ways to fail every day. I don’t understand it. But I like it! Thank you for understanding me. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for loving me so much that you came to earth to show me how to live in the midst of this struggle we call life. Amen.
LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells. Psalm 26:8
Shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 there was a huge spike in church attendance. People that hadn’t been to church in years walked through the doors to heal, to comfort one another, to pray for our nation.
When the earthquake hit Haiti, the hurricanes hit New Orleans, the Tsunami hit Southeast Asia people sent food, money and teams to the affected areas to heal (emotionally and medically) comfort one another and provide housing or whatever else was needed to lift the survivors of these natural disasters to their feet again.
Throughout history the ravages of war and the pain of natural disasters has awakened in us the desire to help. Our hearts melt at the sight of starving orphans. Suddenly we find an extra $10.00 to send through our cell phone bill to help people we never have met.
What is it within us that drives those feelings of compassion and assistance? It’s the realization that we are needed and that we need each other. Deep inside each of us there is a desire to feel like the action you take, no matter how small, will somehow make a difference in the lives of others. Suddenly it doesn’t matter what social class you are in or what the color of your skin is. Sexual orientation isn’t as important as making sure a cardboard shack is replaced by suitable housing and clean water. Enemies set aside their differences at least long enough to meet the needs of those affected by the disaster.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that success in meeting these challenges requires teamwork. One person going to Haiti would have accomplished nothing. One fireman going into the flaming towers would have been fruitless. One $10.00 gift to help the famine ravaged parts of the world would be a ridiculous attempt to help.
Why is it then that when it comes to Spiritual warfare we Christ-followers think we can wage battle alone? We divide ourselves according to denominational affiliation. We camp out on issues about how to worship or how and when to baptize. Some of us are so tired of the bickering that we give up on getting together with other Christ-followers all together. The statement, “I can be a Christian without going to church” is absolutely correct. You can also go to battle alone, but you won’t last long.
Before he went to the cross to die for you Jesus only asked his Father for one thing: UNITY. He knew that in order for us to live strong lives that withstand the forces of evil we would need each other. The body of Christ isn’t a building or a denomination or a set of rules. The body of Christ is a living organism that needs the nourishment of fellowshipping with each other to grow strong.
As Christ-followers we need to make sure that our ‘churches’ show the grace and love of our Lord Jesus to every person that enters our doors. We need to be an active part of our community by being a ‘church without walls’ and doing all we do in the name of Christ (not our church!).
We need each other. We need each other for our own physical, emotional and spiritual strength. The people around us need to see the love of Jesus by the things we do and say to draw them into relationship with the one who can comfort and heal for eternity.
PRAYER: Father, I love to come to your house to worship and learn from your word. I confess to you that often times I look more for what I can gain from the experience that what I can do for others and for you. Forgive me for selfishly looking for my own comfort at the expense of others. Empower me with your Spirit to begin today to make my church a place where all people feel welcome. I need you and they need me. In your name I pray, Amen.
“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
There are some who preach a gospel that says Jesus came to give us a life of comfort and prosperity. While God blesses us in many ways when we live in relationship with him, financial blessing isn’t the most important, or the most common way of blessing. In fact the Bible speaks about the difficulty of ‘rich’ people entering the Kingdom and the danger of putting money, power, and social status above our relationship with God.
Jesus’ focus while he was on earth was to tend to the needs of those around him. That was his only purpose in life. There were plenty of times in his ministry that he could have set up his own little church and settled in Can’t you see it now?
“Jesus Healing and Providing Service”, or JHPS for short. His tag line could have been “Bring me your sick, your disabled your blind and your dead. I’ll heal them for you and you’ll live happily ever after!”
Sounds a little far-fetched doesn’t it? That’s because the last thing Jesus was concerned about was his retirement pension. 410K’s and second homes and foundations bearing his name were meaningless to him.
He spent his entire life working for others and never once did he ask for anything in return! He touched the diseased and stinking body of the leper. He sat men and women who had spent a lifetime taking from others. Jesus spent his times in the slums and ghettos of life, while most of us yearn for the suburbs and the quiet country-side.
The most amazing thing about Jesus is this. While he was walking down the dusty, hot and dry paths of Palestine, he looked down through the future and saw me and you. He saw the times we’ve taken him into moral darkness. He’s heard the words we’ve used to hurt others or mock his name. He’s seen our anger, our hatred, and our apathy.
Jesus knew that even though he would give everything for me, I would still be selfish and rebellious but he died for me anyway. He died for you too. Your past isn’t important. You don’t need to clean up anything or change anything. He’ll work with you on that. Jesus just wants you to come home to him so he can love you.
That’s leadership. Leadership Jesus’ way says your needs are more important than my comfort.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I confess to you that most of my life is really about making myself comfortable. The times I get angry are really the result of not getting my way. Forgive me for seeking my own comfort at the expense of others. Help me to be a servant-leader like you were when you were here on earth. In your name I pray, Amen.
