The Creator God Shows Us Courage Through the Cross This Lenten season we studied the 7 places Jesus bled while on the cross to cleanse us from all our sins. Each place, His head, His hands, His side, His back and His feet are demonstrations of God’s great love for us. Each one repaired the chasm between humanity and God once and for all. Since Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden the Creator God set into motion His plan of salvation. He knew how the chasm between the Triune God and humanity would be repaired. This Holy Week we follow Jesus along His journey to the Cross. A journey He takes willingly. One He must take alone. His courage is on display as He hangs on the Cross. On this night of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday Jesus gave His disciples, and to us today, a commandment - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 Jesus demonstrated love for us when He willingly sacrificed His life to save us from sin, and from ourselves. He gave the full measure of love. He courageously showed love in each of the seven places He bled on the Cross. If you have turned your back to God, see the blood from His back cleansing you as you turn back towards Him. If you have done things you are ashamed of, see His nail pierced hands washing you clean. If you have walked away from God, believing you didn’t need Him, see His feet with nails in them walking to meet you, wherever you are. If you have thoughts you are ashamed of, or words spoken from anger, pain or pride; know the crown of thorns cleanses you, so you can fix your thoughts on Him. If your heart has strayed from Him, know that the wound in His side brings our hearts in right relationship with Him and the Creator God. Seven wounds. Seven displays of courage. Our response to His command - to love one another as He loves us. No, we are not being asked to give up our lives. But we are told to set aside judgments so we may courageously love one another. To see each other as God sees, beloved children of His. It is not always easy. It does require trust in God and humility to learn from the Holy Spirit. Courage is given to us by the Creator God. This holy night hear Jesus say “I love you”. See His courage by His wounds. It is by His wounds that you are healed. Go now with courage loving one another. Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers. Love without condition, without judgment. Be courageous, in humility, just as Jesus showed all of us through His courage on the Cross. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” ~John 13:13-15 ~Pastor Vicki Epper
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Have you ever walked away from someone in the midst of an argument? Walking away often feels right. Emotions are high. It just seems easier. You don’t have to talk through difficult topics of conversations, instead you can walk away, avoid the issue and pretend everything will work itself out. In our final week examining together the 7 places Jesus bled for us while on the cross, we are exploring how the wounds in His feet cleanse us from the times we walk away from God. We can try to go far away, but we can never be too far away from Him. Let’s learn from Jacob in the book of Genesis how we can return home after walking away. Jacob, one could say, was a swindler. He had developed a lifelong reputation of conning people if it meant he could get ahead. When he was young, he swindled his brother out of his part of the inheritance for a bowl of food. A little bit later, with the help of his mother, he convinced his old and blind father to give him the blessing of the eldest child even though he was the second born child. You could say he needed to run far away to protect himself from those he conned. Many years passed and Jacob heard from God that it was time to return to his homeland. Despite his fears he obeyed and packed up his belongings and moved his family to his homeland. As he journeyed, he worried how his older brother Esau would receive him. To read the full story, read Genesis 32-33. Jacob’s unease was deserved, but he hoped for peace with Esau. He returned home prepared to protect himself, ready for a fight, but was surprised when Esau welcomed him home warmly. There was much rejoicing between the reunited brothers. We learn from Jacob that despite hurting others and walking away, we can be reconciled to Jesus and to one another. Fears will arise at the unknown reception, but we can rest assured that God welcomes us back warmly. It is because of the wounds in Jesus’ feet that we are healed. Despite how far or how long you think your feet have taken you away from Jesus you are welcomed back warmly as soon as you turn back. God forgives you. God celebrates your return on a grander scale then Jacob and Esau. As you look upon the Cross this Holy Week, see the 7 places Jesus bled for you. See the wounds He bore for you. See the wounds that bring healing to your life. Find healing in His wounds. Be comforted knowing He did it all for you. He hung on that cross to bring you back to God alone. May you walk step in step with Jesus now in a renewed relationship with Him. Go where He leads and learn as He teaches you. Remain assured of His unconditional love for you as you see His wounds on the Cross. ~Pastor Vicki Epper We have been meditating on the wounds of Christ from which His redeeming blood flowed freely for us. This week's thoughts focus on the Gospel of John 19:34 where, “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and at once there came out blood and water.” THE FIFTH OF THE SEVEN WOUNDS OF CHRIST: The wound in His side. The heart may have been the vital organ pierced by the soldier. The Bible often speaks of the heart, not as that muscle in your chest that pumps blood through our bodies, but as the seat of our emotions, will, morals, faith, and character, indeed of our very self. The heart is that crucial link between our soul and our spirit. It was for the healing and renewal of our inner self, our memories and emotions that Jesus shed his precious blood. The ‘heart’ speaks to us of Jesus’ love for us and God’s desire to restore us to be “the best version of ourselves”. The best version of you and me looks like Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul is explaining the mystery of Christ dwelling by faith in the life of every believer. When Jesus died on the cross, pouring out his life, not only did he obtain salvation but He became the source of a New Being for everyone. Jesus Himself is the New Being, He is the Self with a capital ‘S’. Jesus is working in you from the inside out. The Apostle says, I live in this fleshly body but a New Being is at work in me. I am a work in progress and it won’t be completed soon. It’s not just Jesus’ in me, I myself have a role to play. Jesus cleansed the earthly temple in Jerusalem, but now we are His temple and there may be some junk in us that needs to be cleaned out. Colossians 3:1-13 explains this even more. In vs. 1-3 Paul says that we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Since we were all in Adam when he sinned in the garden, God put us all into Christ when he died on the cross. For this reason, we are all to “Put to death what is earthly” in us. He means that we must consider ourselves dead toward the patterns of life that characterized our past life, our “BC” (Before Christ) life. He lists a rogues’ gallery of sins: sexual sins, covetousness (idolatry), anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk. (He has a similar list in Galatians 5:19-21). Paul says, “Put them away”, “Put off the old self with its practices”. The Jesus in you does not act like that, the mind of Christ in you does not think like that. Consider yourself dead toward all that would draw you back or draw you down. This is straight talk from a spiritual father to his spiritual children. You can’t just be impulsive and imitate the behavior and values of the world around you. It will ‘dumb your down’ and you’ll lose what you gained in Christ. Rather the apostle counsels, “Put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” In Romans 13:14 the Apostle says, “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”. The Lord is saying, act like your true self, your real self in Christ. You have a will, and a gift from God called your conscience. You have the Ten Commandments. You have God’s will revealed in Holy Scripture. You have God revealed in the flesh in the Holy Gospel, Jesus Christ. By faith He lives in you, talk to Him, listen to Him. We have a place to go with our sins, the Cross. The places where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. It’s still abounding for each one of us. God is determined that we be the best version of ourselves, a redeemed and radiant self in Jesus Christ. When we goof, we have a place to go. Like the add, for the Mayo Clinic, “When you need help, you have a place to go”. The best version of ourselves is not given out at the Mayo Clinic, it’s in Jesus Christ. THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD DRAWN FROM EMMANUEL'S VEINS AND SINNERS PLUNGED BENEATH THAT BLOOD LOSE ALL THEIR GUILTY STAINS ~Pastor Richard G. Erickson
So much of life can change so drastically in what feels like a blink of an eye. Who could have predicted the closing of large group gatherings in businesses, schools and churches just 6 months ago? As much as we try to control things, much of life is beyond our control. Things are simply out of our hands. Nehemiah was a cup bearer in Babylon for the king. He was one of the exiles from Jerusalem living in a foreign country wondering how his beloved city was doing. His heart was broken when he heard it was vulnerable to attack, that it was in desperate need to be rebuilt. Read how Nehemiah took his concern to God in the 1st Chapter of Nehemiah: Nehemiah 1:4-11 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Nehemiah’s heart was broken for his home. He knew something needed to be done so he turned to the Lord for guidance. He began his plea by confessing his and all of Israel’s sin. He sought God’s guidance for how Jerusalem was to be rebuilt. He did not bring an already made plan to God and ask for God’s blessing. Instead he humbly went before the Lord to listen and learn what God had for him to do; for how Nehemiah was to lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its people. During this time many things are uncertain. Our hearts are broken for our neighbors, our families, our friends who suffer from the Coronavirus and the effects of the pandemic. We humbly go before the Lord to hear what He has for us to do. The Holy Spirit direct us into new ways to connect and serve one another. Whether it is giving monetary donations instead of canned goods to local food shelves or meeting online with small groups via Facebook Groups or Skype we remain the Church loving one another. Jesus’ hands were pierced so that we can lift our eyes up from our own lives to see those around us who God placed in our paths to love and serve. His hands bled so when we feel nothing is in our control, we are comforted by Him, knowing He is in complete control. He is leading us as He led Nehemiah. Together we come before the Lord to confess our sins and hear what God has for us to do as our world comes out from this pandemic. New, creative ways of connecting and being the Church will abound because God has shown us how. Much is not in our hands, but ALL is in God’s hands. Because Jesus’ hands bled for us, we are able to follow God’s plan. Let us take the time this week in prayer to listen to the Lord and hear what His plan is for us. May our ears be attentive to Him. As Nehemiah was able to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem in record time, we can help one another recover from this time of uncertainty in record time. The power of community can accomplish great things when we sit in the Lord’s Hands following His plan. Pastor Vicki Epper |
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