I Did It GOD’S Way!
John R. Petrilli
Life is dynamic in that we get to choose how we will live it. Culture, tradition and personal values have a huge impact on the type of lifestyle we choose. So how are you living your life? Are you satisfied with your choice of lifestyle? Here’s some food for thought.
MANY TRY TO DO LIFE THEIR WAY!
Pop music fans will quickly recognize the lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s hit song, “My Way”. The lyrics of "My Way" tell the story of a man who’s nearing the end of his life. He’s peacock proud of how he dealt with all the ups and downs of his life through raw self-reliance.
“I’ve lived a life that’s full, I’ve traveled each and every highway,
But more, more than this,
I DID IT MY WAY!
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway,
And more, much more than this,
I DID IT MY WAY!
To think I did all that, and may I say – not in a shy way,
No, no not me,
I DID IT MY WAY!
The record shows I took the blows, and
DID IT MY WAY!”
Modern culture vigorously espouses the idea that we can be our own person, a moral free agent who’s accountable to no one but ourselves. That we can live life OUR OWN WAY, on our own terms. While such a philosophy makes for good-sounding lyrics, it runs into big trouble when trying to apply it to our relationship with God. In my spiritual journey I had to learn this lesson the hard way.
I TRIED TO DO LIFE MY WAY!
In my early twenties I started searching for truth in various belief systems like Hinduism, Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation and philosophy. Then I began feeling irresistibly drawn to the Person of Jesus Christ as I read the Gospel of John. I wanted Jesus to be my Savior, but thought that faith couldn’t possibly be enough. I felt I had to DO certain things in addition to my faith to get right and stay right with God. So when I read in the Bible where Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give to the poor - I DID by emptying-out my wardrobe. When I read the directive to visit those shut up from society - I DID by becoming a friendly visitor at Van Duyn Nursing Home. When I read about feeding the hungry - I DID by volunteering at a soup kitchen that fed street people. Now all of these are fine things to be involved in. The problem was that I was banking my salvation on them.
In spite of scores of hours spent in time and energy volunteering to help others, I still didn’t have any peace in my heart. That was because I was doing it ‘my way’. I was trying to please God on my own terms, thinking these acts of benevolence would somehow curry His favor and merit His salvation. Boy was I wrong!
I CHOSE TO DO LIFE GOD’S WAY!
All this came to a head as I faced a decision on whether or not to return to school to complete my final year at Onondaga Community College. As I presented numerous ‘my way’ alternatives to the Lord, I heard nothing - dead silence. I really didn’t want to go back to college. But when, as a last option, I asked Him if O.C.C. was where He wanted me, He confirmed that with an exclamation point. During that prayer time He showed me that He never wanted my good works … He wanted ME! This was a revolutionary revelation. It changed my whole picture of how God related to me. It turned out, after all, that faith WAS enough. Jesus says so in His own words. One day a group of people wanted to know what good work they could do to be right with God. Here’s how the conversation went.
PEOPLE: “What exactly does God want us to DO?”
JESUS: “God wants you to HAVE FAITH in the One He has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
These well-meaning folks mistakenly believed that their good works would somehow earn their salvation. This ‘My Way’ approach to salvation has been around since Cain tried to substitute God’s required blood offering with a grain offering he’d produced with his own hands. For centuries people the world over have been taking a ‘My Way’ approach in their attempts to get right with God. With these beliefs it’s all about DOING something to please or appease God. Some people “DO” by praying face-to-the-ground three times a day. Others “DO” by giving alms and trying to live “good” lives. Still others “DO” by honoring a personal code of ethics they will curry favor with God. But Jesus said, “The work of God is this: that you BELIEVE in the One whom He has sent.”
Here’s a spiritual formula to remember:
SALVATION = by GRACE, through FAITH + NOTHING.
Note the “ + NOTHING ” part. There’s absolutely NOTHING we can ADD to saving faith. Any system that does so is promoting a false gospel. Faith always was and always will be ENOUGH for our salvation. Paul makes this crystal clear: “For it is by grace you have been saved through FAITH – and this is NOT from yourselves, it is the gift of God – NOT BY WORKS, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The verse that follows reveals the proper role that good works play AFTER a person is saved. “For are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). We’re not saved BY good works, but we’re saved FOR good works.
The apostle James agrees, explaining the role good works play in DEMONSTRATING the genuineness of saving faith. He teaches us that genuine faith WILL RESULT in good works, a changed lifestyle. A faith that doesn’t produce any changes in a person’s life is a dead and useless “faith” (Jam. 2:14-26). This kind of so-called “faith” doesn’t save anyone. James illustrates saving faith by citing Abraham’s offering-up of Isaac and Rahab’s protection of the Hebrew spies as examples of how true faith is lived out in actions (“works”) that reveal its authenticity. In both cases, the pre-existing, invisible faith that existed in their hearts was made visible by their subsequent actions, thereby demonstrating the reality of the faith which they possessed. This is how a genuine Christian “shows” (or reveals) his faith by his works (“I will show you my faith by what I do.” Jam. 2:18).
JOIN THE MILLIONS WHO CHOOSE TO DO LIFE GOD’S WAY!
Once we get past our “McDonald’s Theology” of salvation that says, “Have it YOUR way”, we’ll be well on our way to discovering the greatest secret of all time. Salvation is a FREE GIFT! We don’t have to do a single thing to earn it (“God’s GIFT is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 6:23b)! In fact, nothing we could ever “DO” could earn it because Jesus has already DONE everything necessary for our salvation on the cross. God accepted Jesus “good work” on the cross as sufficient for our salvation. When we try to add our good works to the cross, we insult God by saying Jesus death wasn’t enough to take away our sins. But when we come to the end of our own self-efforts, and simply believe and accept what God’s done for us, we’re saved … period! “The work of God is this: that you BELIEVE in the One whom He has sent.”
To this the author of Hebrews agrees: “My righteous one will live by FAITH.” (Heb 10:38); “Without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.” (Heb. 11:6) The apostle Paul agrees: “The just will live by FAITH.” (Gal. 3:11) The apostle John agrees: “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our FAITH. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who BELIEVES that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5) Even the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk agrees: “The righteous will live by his FAITH.” (Hab. 2:4)
If you’ve been spinning your wheels trying to get right with God by doing it YOUR WAY, its time to switch vehicles. Give up those futile efforts and just let God be God. Let Him save you. It’s just THAT simple! Then go on by translating your saving faith into a living faith each day: “Christ died for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the One Who died and was raised to life for us.” (2 Cor. 5:15, CEV)
Here’s the lyrics of the new song I sing:
“I Did It God’s Way!”
“Before meeting Him, I’d traveled many a highway,
I took many a wrong path,
Trying so hard to find my own way,
But, in the end,
I did it GOD’S WAY!”
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Let the Walls Come Down!
Let the Walls Come Down!
John Petrilli
Erected immediately after World War II, the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of the ultimate dividing line of distrust between ideologies and nations. It tore apart families, friends, and even churches within the same denomination. All that changed the day U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued this challenge to the Soviet Union at a public address given at the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” In 1989 that wall came down, and life returned to normal for the people of Berlin. It was a day of huge celebration for everyone, especially those whose lives had been turned upside-down by the imposing structure.
Just imagine the kind of celebration that would break out around the world if the Church tore down the walls which have divided it for centuries. While God’s Word clearly directs us to separate from heretical teaching and practice (1 Cor. 11:18-19; 2 Cor. 6:17-18), it also calls believers to avoid unnecessary and unwarranted divisions among themselves (1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 16:17). We are free to hold to our doctrinal distinctives, but never to allow them to drive a wedge between ourselves and our fellow believers in Christ. Christ’s High Priestly Prayer reveals how a diverse Church can and should walk in unity and love.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE BELONG TO THE SAME SAVIOUR. John 17: 1-3
In essence, fellowship (Greek word is “koinonia”) for Christians consists of sharing our common relationship to Jesus Christ. John 17 contains the most detailed and extensive recorded prayer of Jesus. In it He reveals His heart’s desire for the Church, and, boiled down to one word, it’s UNITY. This prayer opens with the subject of eternal life, stating that to have a relationship with Him is to possess eternal life. If two believers have nothing else in common other than their trust in Christ as Savior, they’re still family and can enjoy fellowship together. The apostle John says it this way: “We proclaim to you the eternal life which has appeared to us … we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1: 2-3)
When We Major On the Majors, We Promote the Unity of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:3-6).
A statement by Augustine, one of the great Church Fathers, has helped me keep perspective here. “In the essentials, Unity; In the non-essentials, Liberty; In all things, Charity.”
So what are the essentials? Glad you asked! Paul outlines them for us in Eph 4: “Make every effort to maintain the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT, just as you were called to ONE HOPE when you were called. ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM; ONE GOD and Father of us all.” These are the “majors” we need to major on when fellowshipping across church and denominational lines. We should never succumb to doctrinal compromise in these fundamental areas. But we should likewise not go beyond them in determining who we will fellowship or serve with.
When We Major On the Minors, We Thwart God’s Design For Unity. One day the disciples displayed an exclusive, sectarian attitude by requesting permission from Jesus to stop a man who was exorcising demons who didn’t belong to the twelve (Luke 9:49-50). He told the disciples not to stop the guy, affirming that whoever didn’t oppose their message and mission was actually working alongside them! Jesus response was a rebuke to their attitude, and serves the same purpose for those of us today who would look down our noses at ministries or individuals who don’t believe everything exactly the way we do.
When We Focus on the Cross of Jesus Christ, We Preserve the Unity of the Body. (1 Cor.1:10-13, 17). Division in the church is nothing new. It reared its ugly head early on. In 1 Cor. 3 we see the Corinthian believers dividing over which leader to follow. You might call these three camps the first three “denominations”. There were the “Paul-ites” who liked Paul; the “Apollo-ites” who preferred Apollos’ teaching style; and the ultra-spiritual “Christ-ites”, who were too far advanced for a simple man to lead them. Paul confronts this divisive attitude head on, and points them back to the Cross. It was the Cross of Jesus Christ that saved them and kept them, not Paul or Apollos or anyone else for that matter. We must guard against dividing over this doctrine, or that radio teacher, or this particular teaching. If it’s not an essential doctrine of the faith, it’s not a point over which to part company. When we exercise Scriptural discernment and spiritual discipline, God will give us the wisdom to see what’s really important and what’s not. And when we do find points of difference, it’s best to agree to disagree, then focus on that one key point of agreement, the Saving Cross of our L.J.C.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THE SAME WORD OF GOD. John 17: 6-8, 17
Included in Jesus’ prayer is a reference to the relationship his first disciples had to His Word.
He states that they accepted His Word, trusted His Word, and were purified by His Word.
The acid test of genuine discipleship has always revolved around the relationship between the believer and God’s Word. Jesus placed the highest premium on this relationship when He stated that, “If you keep on obeying My word, then you are truly My disciples.” (John 8:31) Again, “Whoever does the will of God (as revealed in the Word of God), he is my brother and my sister.” (Mark 3:35) True members of God‘s Family are known by their love for and obedience to the Word of God. Even when we don’t happen to agree on every point of doctrine or practice, we can still enjoy fellowship based on our mutual respect for and adherence to the Word of God.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE SHARE THE SAME MISSION. John 17:8-28
A unified team wins championships. A unified company wins the competition for new business. A unified nation wins on the battlefield. And a unified Church wins the battle for souls. Jesus makes an unmistakable connection between the unity of His Church and the evangelization of the world. As His unified Body displays God’s irresistible love, people will be swept into the Kingdom. A unified front sends a clear and convincing message. A unified Church lends credibility to its claims that the gospel of Christ has the power to heal socially as well as spiritually. Knowing this, Jesus prays for the unity of the Church so that the consequential evangelization of the world will inevitably follow.
Just before ascending to Heaven, Christ left us explicit directions on what he wanted us to engage in. He told us to preach the Gospel to every person in every nation in every generation. Picture for a moment a single church or denomination attempting to accomplish this huge task. It’s easy to see how impossible that would be. But now, take all the Bible-believing ministries around the world, put them together, and we have a much more manageable task indeed! The point is this … no one group or church, or mission board, or denomination can get this job done. The Great Commission was given to the Church at large because it requires the contribution of ALL believers everywhere! In His prayer Jesus says that He has sent us, the Church, into the world to get a job done. No matter what fellowship we belong to, or what doctrinal persuasion we hold to, we have the same mission as every other believer: to share the gospel with as many people you can, in as many ways you can, in as many places you can. When it comes to Our Mission, we’re all on the same team.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE SHARE THE SAME DESTINY. John 17: 24-26
As Christ nears the conclusion of His prayer, He turns to the topic of heaven. Someone has quipped that there won’t be any Baptists or Pentecostals or [fill in the denomination blank] in Heaven. Only blood-bought children of God. While our interpretations of Biblical truth may be precious to us now, there’s coming a day when, as Paul puts it, we shall have perfect knowledge. We’ll discover that on some points we were right on, while on others we missed it
pretty badly. No one has a corner on the truth because we’re all imperfect and see things through a glass darkly. But someday our spiritual vision will be corrected so that it’s 20/20.
It seems the better part of wisdom to allow for disagreement on some points, and reserve final judgment to a time when we see things with perfect clarity.
Our Common Destiny is to Be With Jesus. In vs. 24a Jesus prays for the Church to be reunited with Him in Heaven. In John 14:2-3 Christ assures us that He’s preparing for that reunion day by building a celestial palace for us. No matter what we may disagree on or how strong that disagreement may be, we’re all going to end up in the same place. It’ll all come out right in the end, so why not begin enjoying the ride right now?
Our Common Destiny is to Worship the Glorified Christ. In vs. 24 b Jesus mentions His desire to have us behold His glory. If you love to praise and worship the Lord now, you’re going to just love heaven. It’s a place of perpetual praise. Upon arriving there we’ll discover that the worship team is a congregation of conglomeration, including folks of every color, nationality, and language. This sounds like a very tall order for Heaven’s choir director, but because they’re all redeemed, they’re able to blend together into the most incredible worship music the universe has ever known. The apostle John previews this event for us in chapter 5 of his Revelation: “And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood from every TRIBE and LANGUAGE, and PEOPLE, and NATION!” There it is again at the close of God’s Word, perfect unity in the midst of incredible diversity.
In reading this article perhaps the Lord has spoken to you about a wall you’ve allowed to stand between yourself and another Christian or group. We all have them to one degree or another. But the Gospel is all about removing walls, not erecting them. For the sake of God’s kingdom, ask Him to help you tear down that wall. It’s time to let the walls come down!
John Petrilli
Erected immediately after World War II, the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of the ultimate dividing line of distrust between ideologies and nations. It tore apart families, friends, and even churches within the same denomination. All that changed the day U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued this challenge to the Soviet Union at a public address given at the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” In 1989 that wall came down, and life returned to normal for the people of Berlin. It was a day of huge celebration for everyone, especially those whose lives had been turned upside-down by the imposing structure.
Just imagine the kind of celebration that would break out around the world if the Church tore down the walls which have divided it for centuries. While God’s Word clearly directs us to separate from heretical teaching and practice (1 Cor. 11:18-19; 2 Cor. 6:17-18), it also calls believers to avoid unnecessary and unwarranted divisions among themselves (1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 16:17). We are free to hold to our doctrinal distinctives, but never to allow them to drive a wedge between ourselves and our fellow believers in Christ. Christ’s High Priestly Prayer reveals how a diverse Church can and should walk in unity and love.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE BELONG TO THE SAME SAVIOUR. John 17: 1-3
In essence, fellowship (Greek word is “koinonia”) for Christians consists of sharing our common relationship to Jesus Christ. John 17 contains the most detailed and extensive recorded prayer of Jesus. In it He reveals His heart’s desire for the Church, and, boiled down to one word, it’s UNITY. This prayer opens with the subject of eternal life, stating that to have a relationship with Him is to possess eternal life. If two believers have nothing else in common other than their trust in Christ as Savior, they’re still family and can enjoy fellowship together. The apostle John says it this way: “We proclaim to you the eternal life which has appeared to us … we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1: 2-3)
When We Major On the Majors, We Promote the Unity of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:3-6).
A statement by Augustine, one of the great Church Fathers, has helped me keep perspective here. “In the essentials, Unity; In the non-essentials, Liberty; In all things, Charity.”
So what are the essentials? Glad you asked! Paul outlines them for us in Eph 4: “Make every effort to maintain the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT, just as you were called to ONE HOPE when you were called. ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM; ONE GOD and Father of us all.” These are the “majors” we need to major on when fellowshipping across church and denominational lines. We should never succumb to doctrinal compromise in these fundamental areas. But we should likewise not go beyond them in determining who we will fellowship or serve with.
When We Major On the Minors, We Thwart God’s Design For Unity. One day the disciples displayed an exclusive, sectarian attitude by requesting permission from Jesus to stop a man who was exorcising demons who didn’t belong to the twelve (Luke 9:49-50). He told the disciples not to stop the guy, affirming that whoever didn’t oppose their message and mission was actually working alongside them! Jesus response was a rebuke to their attitude, and serves the same purpose for those of us today who would look down our noses at ministries or individuals who don’t believe everything exactly the way we do.
When We Focus on the Cross of Jesus Christ, We Preserve the Unity of the Body. (1 Cor.1:10-13, 17). Division in the church is nothing new. It reared its ugly head early on. In 1 Cor. 3 we see the Corinthian believers dividing over which leader to follow. You might call these three camps the first three “denominations”. There were the “Paul-ites” who liked Paul; the “Apollo-ites” who preferred Apollos’ teaching style; and the ultra-spiritual “Christ-ites”, who were too far advanced for a simple man to lead them. Paul confronts this divisive attitude head on, and points them back to the Cross. It was the Cross of Jesus Christ that saved them and kept them, not Paul or Apollos or anyone else for that matter. We must guard against dividing over this doctrine, or that radio teacher, or this particular teaching. If it’s not an essential doctrine of the faith, it’s not a point over which to part company. When we exercise Scriptural discernment and spiritual discipline, God will give us the wisdom to see what’s really important and what’s not. And when we do find points of difference, it’s best to agree to disagree, then focus on that one key point of agreement, the Saving Cross of our L.J.C.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THE SAME WORD OF GOD. John 17: 6-8, 17
Included in Jesus’ prayer is a reference to the relationship his first disciples had to His Word.
He states that they accepted His Word, trusted His Word, and were purified by His Word.
The acid test of genuine discipleship has always revolved around the relationship between the believer and God’s Word. Jesus placed the highest premium on this relationship when He stated that, “If you keep on obeying My word, then you are truly My disciples.” (John 8:31) Again, “Whoever does the will of God (as revealed in the Word of God), he is my brother and my sister.” (Mark 3:35) True members of God‘s Family are known by their love for and obedience to the Word of God. Even when we don’t happen to agree on every point of doctrine or practice, we can still enjoy fellowship based on our mutual respect for and adherence to the Word of God.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE SHARE THE SAME MISSION. John 17:8-28
A unified team wins championships. A unified company wins the competition for new business. A unified nation wins on the battlefield. And a unified Church wins the battle for souls. Jesus makes an unmistakable connection between the unity of His Church and the evangelization of the world. As His unified Body displays God’s irresistible love, people will be swept into the Kingdom. A unified front sends a clear and convincing message. A unified Church lends credibility to its claims that the gospel of Christ has the power to heal socially as well as spiritually. Knowing this, Jesus prays for the unity of the Church so that the consequential evangelization of the world will inevitably follow.
Just before ascending to Heaven, Christ left us explicit directions on what he wanted us to engage in. He told us to preach the Gospel to every person in every nation in every generation. Picture for a moment a single church or denomination attempting to accomplish this huge task. It’s easy to see how impossible that would be. But now, take all the Bible-believing ministries around the world, put them together, and we have a much more manageable task indeed! The point is this … no one group or church, or mission board, or denomination can get this job done. The Great Commission was given to the Church at large because it requires the contribution of ALL believers everywhere! In His prayer Jesus says that He has sent us, the Church, into the world to get a job done. No matter what fellowship we belong to, or what doctrinal persuasion we hold to, we have the same mission as every other believer: to share the gospel with as many people you can, in as many ways you can, in as many places you can. When it comes to Our Mission, we’re all on the same team.
CHRISTIANS WITH DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS ARE UNITED BECAUSE WE SHARE THE SAME DESTINY. John 17: 24-26
As Christ nears the conclusion of His prayer, He turns to the topic of heaven. Someone has quipped that there won’t be any Baptists or Pentecostals or [fill in the denomination blank] in Heaven. Only blood-bought children of God. While our interpretations of Biblical truth may be precious to us now, there’s coming a day when, as Paul puts it, we shall have perfect knowledge. We’ll discover that on some points we were right on, while on others we missed it
pretty badly. No one has a corner on the truth because we’re all imperfect and see things through a glass darkly. But someday our spiritual vision will be corrected so that it’s 20/20.
It seems the better part of wisdom to allow for disagreement on some points, and reserve final judgment to a time when we see things with perfect clarity.
Our Common Destiny is to Be With Jesus. In vs. 24a Jesus prays for the Church to be reunited with Him in Heaven. In John 14:2-3 Christ assures us that He’s preparing for that reunion day by building a celestial palace for us. No matter what we may disagree on or how strong that disagreement may be, we’re all going to end up in the same place. It’ll all come out right in the end, so why not begin enjoying the ride right now?
Our Common Destiny is to Worship the Glorified Christ. In vs. 24 b Jesus mentions His desire to have us behold His glory. If you love to praise and worship the Lord now, you’re going to just love heaven. It’s a place of perpetual praise. Upon arriving there we’ll discover that the worship team is a congregation of conglomeration, including folks of every color, nationality, and language. This sounds like a very tall order for Heaven’s choir director, but because they’re all redeemed, they’re able to blend together into the most incredible worship music the universe has ever known. The apostle John previews this event for us in chapter 5 of his Revelation: “And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood from every TRIBE and LANGUAGE, and PEOPLE, and NATION!” There it is again at the close of God’s Word, perfect unity in the midst of incredible diversity.
In reading this article perhaps the Lord has spoken to you about a wall you’ve allowed to stand between yourself and another Christian or group. We all have them to one degree or another. But the Gospel is all about removing walls, not erecting them. For the sake of God’s kingdom, ask Him to help you tear down that wall. It’s time to let the walls come down!
The Cross – Jesus’ Date with Destiny
The Cross – Jesus’ Date with Destiny
John R. Petrilli
Where we’d be without our calendars? Whether the wall or the cellphone version, we rely on our calendars to remind us of important dates and appointments. Important dates merit a sticker with a picture on it to get our attention and insure we don’t miss that particular appointment. It may surprise you to know that Jesus’ death on the cross was by no means happenstance. It was something God had appointed to happen long, long ago. Redemption’s story culminated the day Jesus kept His divine appointment, climbing Calvary’s hill and surrendering His life on the cross.
JESUS’ DATE WITH DESTINY SURFACED EARLY IN HIS LIFE.
Everyone loves to hear the wonderful news that a newborn has arrived. Exciting as that is, it pales in comparison to the kind of announcement given concerning Jesus’ birth. His birth announcement included a future date with the Cross (Luke 2:11). Within Days of His Birth, Jesus’ Redemptive Destiny was Made Known to His Parents (Luke 2:34-35). A senior saint named Simeon shared some highly significant information about Jesus’ future. After blessing both parents and child, Simeon predicts that Jesus’ life and redemptive work would trigger profound responses that would determine people’s eternal destiny. His rejection and ultimate execution at the cross would pierce the tortured heart of his grieving mother. Unusual words to say at a baby dedication.
One of the Magi’s Gifts Pointed Directly to the Cross (Matt. 2:11). I recently had the joy of attending the birthday celebration for my brother’s first grandson who just turned one year old. Logan’s great grandfather painted an exact replica of a baby picture he’d found on a birthday card. He framed the exquisite painting and gave it along with the matching birthday card. Certain gifts in the ancient world carried special meaning as well. Myrrh was a very expensive product that was used in embalming the dead. Perhaps this unusual birthday gift served the purpose of predicting Jesus’ upcoming sacrificial death and burial.
JESUS POSSESSED A GROWING AWARENESS OF HIS DATE WITH DESTINY.
Imagine if a sixth-grader demonstrated the ability to intelligently interact with a group of men holding doctorates. That’s the scene recorded by Luke (Luke 2:49). Barely having reached puberty, Jesus steals away from his parents to mix it up with the sharpest minds of His day at the Temple. The Q&A session he participated in with these accomplished scholars caused onlookers to marvel. They couldn’t believe the grasp this kid had of all things spiritual. Apparently that Q&A turned into an extended three-day seminar on theology. After seventy-two hours of frantic searching, his mom and dad finally found their lost son sitting at the feet of the day’s wisest men. When asked by Mary and Joseph why He’d left their side, He responded with words that must have made them wonder. “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” While Jesus was born a normal human being, instances like this clearly indicate His progressive awareness of the redemptive mission His Father had planned for Him.
JESUS OPENLY SHARED HIS DATE WITH DESTINY WITH CERTITUDE.
Politicians frequently rely heavily on the polls when making major decisions and choosing campaign themes. While Jesus was not concerned with His popularity or “electability”, He did use a question about public opinion to uncover what His disciples thought about His true identity. Did they see Him as just another political figure, or was His role as Messiah dawning on them? Having received a correct assessment from Peter, Jesus goes on to predict His approaching official rejection, public execution and subsequent resurrection from the grave (Luke 9:18-22). At this point in time the disciples were unable to digest His words. They left the topic unaddressed (Luke 9:44). At the very outset of His ministry, Christ made it abundantly clear that His future included execution (John 3:13-14). All along the way He repeatedly attempted to prepare His followers for His appointment with the Cross. Again, near the middle of His ministry He communicated that His death was part of God’s perfect plan for Him (Luke 18:31-34). But, once more, the disciples didn’t get it.
JESUS FACED HIS DATE WITH DESTINY HEROICLY.
Whether it’s Civil War battles or the Normandy Invasion, when I watch the video clips of men marching into battle I marvel at their courage. How does someone advance head on into enemy fire? Where does such fortitude come from?
While soldiers march forth into the face of death, Jesus’ march to the cross was far more courageous. For He knew He would face, not only the excruciating physical pain of crucifixion, but also the unfathomable weight of the punishment for every sin ever committed! Yet He rises up and marches resolutely for Jerusalem. Jesus pursued His Calvary destiny with unflinching determination and courageous resolve (Luke 9:51).
Christ also approached the Cross with full confidence in His victorious outcome (Heb. 12:2). While the gospel writers provide the salient details concerning the cross, we are equally indebted to the authors of the New Testament letters for additional information on Good Friday. The writer to the Hebrews has provided us with a divine commentary on Jesus pathway to the cross. Writing to Jewish converts to Christianity who were flagging in their zeal and even abandoning the faith, the author points them to Christ’s endurance. In the face of the fiercest opposition Jesus persevered. Even the cross wasn’t enough to deter Him from following the Father’s will. Seeing the joys of heaven ahead, He scorned the shame of public execution, and successfully rose above it to His royal throne.
Count Zinzendorf led the great Moravian missionary movement in the 1700’s. He described his evangelistic goal in the following terms: “To win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of His suffering”. To be sure, Jesus suffered greatly, but in no way was it in vain. His death on the cross paid the penalty for all our sins, thus making it possible for any of us to embrace salvation by repentance and faith. Jesus faced the challenge of the Cross knowing the eternal benefits it would secure for people. “He will see the result of the suffering of His soul and be satisfied.” (Isa. 53:11).
Which brings us to this Easter Season 2011. You’ve likely heard the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. What will you do with this? Don’t allow this season to pass by without making its purpose a reality in your life … your salvation. Please, please, please, act on what you’ve heard. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved! Happy Easter!
John R. Petrilli
Where we’d be without our calendars? Whether the wall or the cellphone version, we rely on our calendars to remind us of important dates and appointments. Important dates merit a sticker with a picture on it to get our attention and insure we don’t miss that particular appointment. It may surprise you to know that Jesus’ death on the cross was by no means happenstance. It was something God had appointed to happen long, long ago. Redemption’s story culminated the day Jesus kept His divine appointment, climbing Calvary’s hill and surrendering His life on the cross.
JESUS’ DATE WITH DESTINY SURFACED EARLY IN HIS LIFE.
Everyone loves to hear the wonderful news that a newborn has arrived. Exciting as that is, it pales in comparison to the kind of announcement given concerning Jesus’ birth. His birth announcement included a future date with the Cross (Luke 2:11). Within Days of His Birth, Jesus’ Redemptive Destiny was Made Known to His Parents (Luke 2:34-35). A senior saint named Simeon shared some highly significant information about Jesus’ future. After blessing both parents and child, Simeon predicts that Jesus’ life and redemptive work would trigger profound responses that would determine people’s eternal destiny. His rejection and ultimate execution at the cross would pierce the tortured heart of his grieving mother. Unusual words to say at a baby dedication.
One of the Magi’s Gifts Pointed Directly to the Cross (Matt. 2:11). I recently had the joy of attending the birthday celebration for my brother’s first grandson who just turned one year old. Logan’s great grandfather painted an exact replica of a baby picture he’d found on a birthday card. He framed the exquisite painting and gave it along with the matching birthday card. Certain gifts in the ancient world carried special meaning as well. Myrrh was a very expensive product that was used in embalming the dead. Perhaps this unusual birthday gift served the purpose of predicting Jesus’ upcoming sacrificial death and burial.
JESUS POSSESSED A GROWING AWARENESS OF HIS DATE WITH DESTINY.
Imagine if a sixth-grader demonstrated the ability to intelligently interact with a group of men holding doctorates. That’s the scene recorded by Luke (Luke 2:49). Barely having reached puberty, Jesus steals away from his parents to mix it up with the sharpest minds of His day at the Temple. The Q&A session he participated in with these accomplished scholars caused onlookers to marvel. They couldn’t believe the grasp this kid had of all things spiritual. Apparently that Q&A turned into an extended three-day seminar on theology. After seventy-two hours of frantic searching, his mom and dad finally found their lost son sitting at the feet of the day’s wisest men. When asked by Mary and Joseph why He’d left their side, He responded with words that must have made them wonder. “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” While Jesus was born a normal human being, instances like this clearly indicate His progressive awareness of the redemptive mission His Father had planned for Him.
JESUS OPENLY SHARED HIS DATE WITH DESTINY WITH CERTITUDE.
Politicians frequently rely heavily on the polls when making major decisions and choosing campaign themes. While Jesus was not concerned with His popularity or “electability”, He did use a question about public opinion to uncover what His disciples thought about His true identity. Did they see Him as just another political figure, or was His role as Messiah dawning on them? Having received a correct assessment from Peter, Jesus goes on to predict His approaching official rejection, public execution and subsequent resurrection from the grave (Luke 9:18-22). At this point in time the disciples were unable to digest His words. They left the topic unaddressed (Luke 9:44). At the very outset of His ministry, Christ made it abundantly clear that His future included execution (John 3:13-14). All along the way He repeatedly attempted to prepare His followers for His appointment with the Cross. Again, near the middle of His ministry He communicated that His death was part of God’s perfect plan for Him (Luke 18:31-34). But, once more, the disciples didn’t get it.
JESUS FACED HIS DATE WITH DESTINY HEROICLY.
Whether it’s Civil War battles or the Normandy Invasion, when I watch the video clips of men marching into battle I marvel at their courage. How does someone advance head on into enemy fire? Where does such fortitude come from?
While soldiers march forth into the face of death, Jesus’ march to the cross was far more courageous. For He knew He would face, not only the excruciating physical pain of crucifixion, but also the unfathomable weight of the punishment for every sin ever committed! Yet He rises up and marches resolutely for Jerusalem. Jesus pursued His Calvary destiny with unflinching determination and courageous resolve (Luke 9:51).
Christ also approached the Cross with full confidence in His victorious outcome (Heb. 12:2). While the gospel writers provide the salient details concerning the cross, we are equally indebted to the authors of the New Testament letters for additional information on Good Friday. The writer to the Hebrews has provided us with a divine commentary on Jesus pathway to the cross. Writing to Jewish converts to Christianity who were flagging in their zeal and even abandoning the faith, the author points them to Christ’s endurance. In the face of the fiercest opposition Jesus persevered. Even the cross wasn’t enough to deter Him from following the Father’s will. Seeing the joys of heaven ahead, He scorned the shame of public execution, and successfully rose above it to His royal throne.
Count Zinzendorf led the great Moravian missionary movement in the 1700’s. He described his evangelistic goal in the following terms: “To win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of His suffering”. To be sure, Jesus suffered greatly, but in no way was it in vain. His death on the cross paid the penalty for all our sins, thus making it possible for any of us to embrace salvation by repentance and faith. Jesus faced the challenge of the Cross knowing the eternal benefits it would secure for people. “He will see the result of the suffering of His soul and be satisfied.” (Isa. 53:11).
Which brings us to this Easter Season 2011. You’ve likely heard the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. What will you do with this? Don’t allow this season to pass by without making its purpose a reality in your life … your salvation. Please, please, please, act on what you’ve heard. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved! Happy Easter!
It’s Finished!
It’s Finished!
John R. Petrilli
What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy building model cars. Recently I became aware that I was quickly running out of shelf space to display my growing collection. I decided to design and construct my own see-through, dust-proof display case. The project consumed 40 hours of labor and $240 in materials, but was worth it all as I stood before the beautiful piece of furniture. I was so excited I phoned some friends to announce that the job was finally completed. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of finishing a job.
Roughly two-thousand years ago another job was finished. This job was way bigger than a household project or hobby endeavor. As a man hung on a cross He declared with a mighty shout, “IT IS FINISHED”! What did he finish? And why? This article will answer these questions, and perhaps provide fresh insight into what actually transpired on the day we call “Good Friday”.
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS WAS THE DRIVING FORCE IN JESUS’ LIFE.
“Jesus said, ‘The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, FINISHING the work He started.’ ” John 4:34
A more unlikely encounter between two people couldn’t be imagined. A devout Jewish rabbi striking up a conversation with an irreligious, immoral woman. Yet there they sat, talking about everything from well water to eternal life. As these two finished their discussion the disciples came back from their trip to the local market. They offered Jesus some food, but He declined. He hungered for something else as He looked out across the fields. Bread staves off the physical appetite, but would never satisfy His spiritual appetite to see needy people find salvation. Although harvest season was still four months down the road, the harvest season for Samaritan souls was right then. He couldn’t be worried about food when lost people all around Him needed to hear the gospel. The drive to finish the Father’s work dominated Christ’s life. He later explained that He never stopped laboring because His Father, likewise, was always at work (John 5:17). What’s the driving force in your life this Easter season?
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS WAS THE EXCLAMATION POINT ON A LIFE OF PERFECT OBEDIENCE.
“Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. I FINISHED the work you gave me to do.” John 17:1, 4
As a former employer once reminded me, “The only perfect individual died 2,000 years ago”. Perfection is something many pursue but few ever actually achieve. We award medals and honors to individuals who reach the zenith of their professions. They’re about as close to perfection as a human get. But, no matter how close to flawless we get, we all fall far short when it comes to moral perfection. Man may come up with a geometrically “perfect” diamond, but he can never claim the same for his personal ethics. We all fall short here.
What if someone morally perfect did show up? Would we recognize them? What would they look like? While some may find it impossible to believe, one such person did show up. This person successfully obeyed every moral law ever instituted by God. He never missed! He never lied about anything, never cheated anyone, and never stole anything. He never even considered doing anything wrong. His moral perfection was possible because he possessed a unique sinless nature. Unlike us, who were born with a natural bent toward sin, this man had no such bent. Doing the right thing came naturally for him, even though that obedience caused intense suffering. “Although He was a son, Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8).
When the time came to wrap up his term of service here on earth He prayed a beautiful prayer. That prayer reveals that He had not only glorified God in His life, but, most eminently, would glorify God in His death on the cross. His sacrificial death on the cross emphatically concluded an entire life of flawless obedience to God.
While we’ll never achieve perfect obedience to God, it’s certainly worthwhile this Easter season to consider how we can improve our “O.Q.” (Obedience Quotient).
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS ACCOMPLISHED CHRIST’S TOTAL VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH.
“Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty’. The soldiers soaked a sponge in a jar of vinegar. Then they put the sponge on a branch of hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth. Jesus tasted the vinegar. Then He said, ‘It is FINISHED!’ He bowed His head and died.” John 19:30
The old adage, “Things aren’t always what they appear to be” was never truer than on Good Friday. To the onlooker at the foot of the cross it was a total wash for Jesus and His followers. He was dead - clinically dead, as the blood and water flowing from His spear-pierced side conclusively proved. It was all over.
Or was it? The Greek word for ‘finished’ here is a loaded term. It means not merely ‘to terminate a thing’, but ‘to carry out a thing to the full’. That’s how thoroughly the death of Jesus took care of our sin. What happened on that cross looked like a total defeat, but it was actually the means by which Christ gained our total victory! As A.T. Robertson puts it, “A cry of victory in the (very) hour of defeat.” Things that day on Calvary were by no means what they appeared to be. The death Jesus died was the very means by which our sins were paid for. His death made it possible for us to go free!
I like the depiction used in Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ”. As Jesus dies, a drop of blood falls down from His head and splashes onto the ground. Then a hellish scene shows Satan wildly screaming as he celebrates what he thought was his defeat of God’s Son. Nothing was further from the truth. Three days later things would be looking a whole lot different. Turns out, while the cross temporarily bruised the Savior. it delivered a fatal blow to the devil. This Easter season please don’t make the mistake of seeing Jesus as a “dead man who did good”. Instead, see Him for who He really is … the crucified, risen, living Savior!
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS COMPLETED GOD’S REDEMPTION STORY.
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. Now in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then He sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3
The cross was by no means an afterthought in the mind of God. He foreshadowed its pivotal role in redemption as soon as man had fallen (Gen. 3:15), and reiterates this at history’s close, stating that the cross was planned before time began (Rev. 13:8). The writer to the Hebrews explains how God systematically unfolded His plan of salvation year after year, generation after generation, century after century, millennia after millennia. Jesus substitutionary death for our sins is the whole theme of the Bible. He can be seen in most every book of the Bible, if not by direct reference, then by clear inference. The pair of disciples who encountered the resurrected Christ on their way to Emmaus were blown away as He revealed how passage after passage of Scripture consistently and comprehensively pointed to His death and resurrection (Luke 24:24-27).
Jesus IS redemption’s story. Now that he’d come and fulfilled all that was foretold of Him, the Hebrews (and us) need no further message from God. Why not let Him begin writing your redemption story for the first time as your personal Savior? Or a new chapter each day as you follow Him as Lord?
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS PERMANENTLY CANCELLED-OUT A MOUNTING DEBT WE COULD NEVER REPAY.
“Every day the priests stand and do their religious service. Again and again they offer the same sacrifices. But those sacrifices can never take away sins. But Christ offered one sacrifice for sins, and it is good FOREVER. Then He sat down at the right hand of God. With one sacrifice He made perfect FOREVER those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:11-14
Our nation is experiencing unprecedented problems in the area of unsecured debt. Government agencies, corporations and individuals are struggling to pay back monies borrowed. Imagine if someone came along and erased all that debt with one payment? People would literally dance in the streets! While such a solution does not appear on the immediate horizon, there’s a much more serious debt problem that does have such a solution. God has set some moral standards for us. Each time we break one of those standards, we’re indebted to God. The Bible calls such violations “sin”. What’s more, we break God’s beneficial rules because we have an inborn disposition that naturally chooses the wrong way. The Bible calls this our “sin nature”. Being perfectly just, God has to punish each and every sin. And the payment for each and every sin is death. Spiritual death, permanent separation from God.
The great news of the gospel is that our personal sin debt has been cancelled at the cross. There Jesus chose to assume all the debt our sins incurred. All of it, for all time. But we must cash in by simply accepting God’s forgiveness of our debt. By turning from sin and receiving Christ into our lives, we become debt free! “We owed a debt because we broke God’s laws. That debt listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us that debt. He took away that debt and nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:13-14). Now that’s what I call debt-free living! At Easter the cross shouts out, “Get out of debt!” Are you there yet?
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS MARKED THE FINISH LINE IN JESUS’ RACE OF FAITH.
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and FINISHED this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed – that exhilarating FINISH in and with God – He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.” Hebrews 12:2,
“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” We’ve all heard it a million times, yet it’s so very true. My first semester at Bible college exposed me to the fiercest series of trials ever. When the semester ended and I returned home for Christmas vacation I vividly recall the words of a generous supporter who’d help pay my schooling expenses. “It’s always good to finish what we’ve started.” I never looked back and with God’s help, graduated with academic honors.
Perseverance marked the life of Jesus, and it’s just what we need most when the going gets really tough. If you’re growing discouraged by the hardships of the Christian life, now’s a good time to recall the kind of stuff Jesus went through all His life. Hounded by devil, demons and every kind of human enemy, our Lord stuck to His guns. I wonder if His words, “It is finished!”, also expressed a sigh of relief. The cross towards which He’d set His face like a flint marked the end of His courageous race (Isa. 50:7; Luke 9:51). It was the finish line He longed to cross. And cross it He did! By recalling how Jesus finished His race we can draw encouragement and strength to begin (or continue) running our own race of faith. Happy Easter!
John R. Petrilli
What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy building model cars. Recently I became aware that I was quickly running out of shelf space to display my growing collection. I decided to design and construct my own see-through, dust-proof display case. The project consumed 40 hours of labor and $240 in materials, but was worth it all as I stood before the beautiful piece of furniture. I was so excited I phoned some friends to announce that the job was finally completed. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of finishing a job.
Roughly two-thousand years ago another job was finished. This job was way bigger than a household project or hobby endeavor. As a man hung on a cross He declared with a mighty shout, “IT IS FINISHED”! What did he finish? And why? This article will answer these questions, and perhaps provide fresh insight into what actually transpired on the day we call “Good Friday”.
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS WAS THE DRIVING FORCE IN JESUS’ LIFE.
“Jesus said, ‘The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, FINISHING the work He started.’ ” John 4:34
A more unlikely encounter between two people couldn’t be imagined. A devout Jewish rabbi striking up a conversation with an irreligious, immoral woman. Yet there they sat, talking about everything from well water to eternal life. As these two finished their discussion the disciples came back from their trip to the local market. They offered Jesus some food, but He declined. He hungered for something else as He looked out across the fields. Bread staves off the physical appetite, but would never satisfy His spiritual appetite to see needy people find salvation. Although harvest season was still four months down the road, the harvest season for Samaritan souls was right then. He couldn’t be worried about food when lost people all around Him needed to hear the gospel. The drive to finish the Father’s work dominated Christ’s life. He later explained that He never stopped laboring because His Father, likewise, was always at work (John 5:17). What’s the driving force in your life this Easter season?
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS WAS THE EXCLAMATION POINT ON A LIFE OF PERFECT OBEDIENCE.
“Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. I FINISHED the work you gave me to do.” John 17:1, 4
As a former employer once reminded me, “The only perfect individual died 2,000 years ago”. Perfection is something many pursue but few ever actually achieve. We award medals and honors to individuals who reach the zenith of their professions. They’re about as close to perfection as a human get. But, no matter how close to flawless we get, we all fall far short when it comes to moral perfection. Man may come up with a geometrically “perfect” diamond, but he can never claim the same for his personal ethics. We all fall short here.
What if someone morally perfect did show up? Would we recognize them? What would they look like? While some may find it impossible to believe, one such person did show up. This person successfully obeyed every moral law ever instituted by God. He never missed! He never lied about anything, never cheated anyone, and never stole anything. He never even considered doing anything wrong. His moral perfection was possible because he possessed a unique sinless nature. Unlike us, who were born with a natural bent toward sin, this man had no such bent. Doing the right thing came naturally for him, even though that obedience caused intense suffering. “Although He was a son, Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8).
When the time came to wrap up his term of service here on earth He prayed a beautiful prayer. That prayer reveals that He had not only glorified God in His life, but, most eminently, would glorify God in His death on the cross. His sacrificial death on the cross emphatically concluded an entire life of flawless obedience to God.
While we’ll never achieve perfect obedience to God, it’s certainly worthwhile this Easter season to consider how we can improve our “O.Q.” (Obedience Quotient).
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS ACCOMPLISHED CHRIST’S TOTAL VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH.
“Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty’. The soldiers soaked a sponge in a jar of vinegar. Then they put the sponge on a branch of hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth. Jesus tasted the vinegar. Then He said, ‘It is FINISHED!’ He bowed His head and died.” John 19:30
The old adage, “Things aren’t always what they appear to be” was never truer than on Good Friday. To the onlooker at the foot of the cross it was a total wash for Jesus and His followers. He was dead - clinically dead, as the blood and water flowing from His spear-pierced side conclusively proved. It was all over.
Or was it? The Greek word for ‘finished’ here is a loaded term. It means not merely ‘to terminate a thing’, but ‘to carry out a thing to the full’. That’s how thoroughly the death of Jesus took care of our sin. What happened on that cross looked like a total defeat, but it was actually the means by which Christ gained our total victory! As A.T. Robertson puts it, “A cry of victory in the (very) hour of defeat.” Things that day on Calvary were by no means what they appeared to be. The death Jesus died was the very means by which our sins were paid for. His death made it possible for us to go free!
I like the depiction used in Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ”. As Jesus dies, a drop of blood falls down from His head and splashes onto the ground. Then a hellish scene shows Satan wildly screaming as he celebrates what he thought was his defeat of God’s Son. Nothing was further from the truth. Three days later things would be looking a whole lot different. Turns out, while the cross temporarily bruised the Savior. it delivered a fatal blow to the devil. This Easter season please don’t make the mistake of seeing Jesus as a “dead man who did good”. Instead, see Him for who He really is … the crucified, risen, living Savior!
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS COMPLETED GOD’S REDEMPTION STORY.
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. Now in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then He sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3
The cross was by no means an afterthought in the mind of God. He foreshadowed its pivotal role in redemption as soon as man had fallen (Gen. 3:15), and reiterates this at history’s close, stating that the cross was planned before time began (Rev. 13:8). The writer to the Hebrews explains how God systematically unfolded His plan of salvation year after year, generation after generation, century after century, millennia after millennia. Jesus substitutionary death for our sins is the whole theme of the Bible. He can be seen in most every book of the Bible, if not by direct reference, then by clear inference. The pair of disciples who encountered the resurrected Christ on their way to Emmaus were blown away as He revealed how passage after passage of Scripture consistently and comprehensively pointed to His death and resurrection (Luke 24:24-27).
Jesus IS redemption’s story. Now that he’d come and fulfilled all that was foretold of Him, the Hebrews (and us) need no further message from God. Why not let Him begin writing your redemption story for the first time as your personal Savior? Or a new chapter each day as you follow Him as Lord?
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS PERMANENTLY CANCELLED-OUT A MOUNTING DEBT WE COULD NEVER REPAY.
“Every day the priests stand and do their religious service. Again and again they offer the same sacrifices. But those sacrifices can never take away sins. But Christ offered one sacrifice for sins, and it is good FOREVER. Then He sat down at the right hand of God. With one sacrifice He made perfect FOREVER those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:11-14
Our nation is experiencing unprecedented problems in the area of unsecured debt. Government agencies, corporations and individuals are struggling to pay back monies borrowed. Imagine if someone came along and erased all that debt with one payment? People would literally dance in the streets! While such a solution does not appear on the immediate horizon, there’s a much more serious debt problem that does have such a solution. God has set some moral standards for us. Each time we break one of those standards, we’re indebted to God. The Bible calls such violations “sin”. What’s more, we break God’s beneficial rules because we have an inborn disposition that naturally chooses the wrong way. The Bible calls this our “sin nature”. Being perfectly just, God has to punish each and every sin. And the payment for each and every sin is death. Spiritual death, permanent separation from God.
The great news of the gospel is that our personal sin debt has been cancelled at the cross. There Jesus chose to assume all the debt our sins incurred. All of it, for all time. But we must cash in by simply accepting God’s forgiveness of our debt. By turning from sin and receiving Christ into our lives, we become debt free! “We owed a debt because we broke God’s laws. That debt listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us that debt. He took away that debt and nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:13-14). Now that’s what I call debt-free living! At Easter the cross shouts out, “Get out of debt!” Are you there yet?
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS MARKED THE FINISH LINE IN JESUS’ RACE OF FAITH.
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and FINISHED this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed – that exhilarating FINISH in and with God – He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.” Hebrews 12:2,
“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” We’ve all heard it a million times, yet it’s so very true. My first semester at Bible college exposed me to the fiercest series of trials ever. When the semester ended and I returned home for Christmas vacation I vividly recall the words of a generous supporter who’d help pay my schooling expenses. “It’s always good to finish what we’ve started.” I never looked back and with God’s help, graduated with academic honors.
Perseverance marked the life of Jesus, and it’s just what we need most when the going gets really tough. If you’re growing discouraged by the hardships of the Christian life, now’s a good time to recall the kind of stuff Jesus went through all His life. Hounded by devil, demons and every kind of human enemy, our Lord stuck to His guns. I wonder if His words, “It is finished!”, also expressed a sigh of relief. The cross towards which He’d set His face like a flint marked the end of His courageous race (Isa. 50:7; Luke 9:51). It was the finish line He longed to cross. And cross it He did! By recalling how Jesus finished His race we can draw encouragement and strength to begin (or continue) running our own race of faith. Happy Easter!
3 Days That Changed Forever!
3 Days That Changed Forever!
John R. Petrilli
If someone were to ask you what the most important event in history was, what would your answer be? Some might choose the winning of a world war, a life-changing invention, or the day man landed on the moon. Many
would likely cite an event involving world leaders, while those interested in the sciences would probably favor an important discovery. While each has merit, not one of them had an impact on eternity. For this reason, I believe that Easter is the most significant event in human history. A close look at that momentous Passover weekend substantiates Easter as the greatest event in human history. In the third chapter of his first letter, the apostle Peter reveals three ways that the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ have impacted both time and eternity.
EASTER’S CROSS CHANGED OUR SPIRITUAL STATUS FROM GUILTY SINNERS TO FORGIVEN SAINTS.
“Christ died for sins, once for all, the just for the unjust.” 1 Peter 3:18a
Credit card debt is running rampant in our society. Consider this: The average American now carries a credit card debt of over $10,000, a whopping 175% increase over just seven years ago! If you multiply this amount by only ½ of America’s population, it would total a stunning $800 trillion dollars of credit card debt! It’s hard to even fathom what the credit card debt of the whole world is. Now imagine if someone offered to pay-off the credit card debt of the whole world. That would be nothing short of astounding! Now picture in your mind someone paying-off the sin debt of every man, woman, and child ever born! That’s just a hint of the unbelievable magnitude of Jesus’ death for our sins. Our text also describes Jesus with the adjective, “just”.
The scandalously incredible thing about the Easter story is that no charge against Jesus actually stuck. They crucified a completely innocent man! After rigorous and repeated cross-examinations, Pilate found Jesus completely innocent of all charges. Pilate’s wife warned him to “have nothing to do with that INNOCENT man”! The chief priests couldn’t produce a single shred of evidence to convict Christ! Judas went to his grave openly admitting he’d betrayed an innocent man. Not only was Jesus innocent of any crime, His whole LIFE was innocent of any sin! When Christ challenged his enemies to find a single fault in Him, they couldn’t!
In his Pentecostal message Peter calls Christ, “the Holy and JUST One”. In his pre-martyrdom address, Stephen referred to Jesus as “the JUST One.” Paul declared Christ to be, “without sin, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners”. Jesus Christ was the only person ever born with a sin-less nature, and that qualified Him to die in our place for our sins. Without Easter we would be forever stuck in a miserable state of guilt. But Jesus took our guilt & sin to the cross so that we can live as forgiven people.
EASTER’S CROSS CHANGED OUR EXISTENCE FROM MEANINGLESS TO PURPOSEFUL.
“Christ died … so that He might bring us to God”. 1 Peter 3:18b
While cellphones certainly have many advantages, one of the inconveniences is the dreaded “dropped call”. For those not familiar with that term, it’s when the signal is lost and the cell call ends without any warning.
Disconnects are tough to deal with. They bring a halt to the free flow of communication. The greatest disconnect of all time took place when man lost connection with God. That disconnect left us completely out of touch with our Creator. Nothing we could do could ever restore that lost connection. Only the death of the spotless Lamb of God could get us back in touch with God. That’s why Jesus suffered on that Cross, to get us back to God. As Jesus breathed His last, the veil of the Temple ripped in two, openly exposing the holy of holies, and signifying that Jesus’ death had successfully opened-up the way back to God. The meaning of life is all wrapped-up in finding, knowing, and enjoying God. Finding Christ is like discovering the spiritual key that unlocks the real meaning of life. We vainly fill our lives with toys and things hoping they’ll provide a sense of purpose. But this is futile because it looks for significance in all the wrong places. Jesus said quite plainly, “I have come that they may have abundant life … no one comes to the Father except through Me”. Meaning can only be found in having a right relationship with God, and that relationship can only be restored through His Son Jesus Christ. Once we’ve been brought back to God through faith in Christ, we experience meaning and purpose that exceeds our wildest dreams. Because of Easter, we can experience the meaning God intends our lives to have.
EASTER’S EMPTY TOMB CHANGED OUR OUTLOOK FROM EMPTY DESPAIR TO CONFIDENT HOPE.
“Christ was …. made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18c
If you haven’t had the opportunity to see Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion”, you may be missing one of the best passion movies ever. While I appreciated the accuracy and intensity of the movie, I must say that I was a bit disappointed with the way the resurrection was underplayed. After devoting almost two hours to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and crucifixion, the movie ends with an extremely short scene depicting Christ rising up
inside the tomb. As I exited the movie theater I was amazed at how many people were so grief stricken. Many were crying openly. I believe this may have been due in part to the movie’s great imbalance between the cross and the resurrection. True, Jesus’ death was horrible and should elicit repentance in our hearts. But without significant time given to the resurrection, the movie left a lot of people drowning in the grief of the cross instead of rejoicing in the victory of the resurrection.
The message of Easter ends on the victorious note of the resurrection! And that’s what Peter describes when he pens the words, “Christ was made alive in the Spirit”.
When it comes right down to it the only reason we can live with any real hope is the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead! Indeed, in this one letter alone Peter mentions hope four times. In Chapter 1, verse 3, he says that the believer has been born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Chapter 1, verse 13, Peter encourages his readers to hope to the end. In Chapter 1, verse 21, he says that the resurrection enables us to place our faith and hope in God. And in Chapter 3, verse 15, Peter encourages believers to provide non-Christians with a rationale for their hope by attributing it to the resurrection. Someone has observed that man can live for weeks without food, for days without water, but he cannot live for one second without hope. Hope is essential to our survival.
If this is true of our hopes in time, how much more true is it of our hope for eternity? Indeed, the Apostle Paul cites the resurrection as the very foundation of our faith. In 1 Cor. 15 he goes so far as to say that a life lived without hope in the resurrection is futile, lost, and pitiful. If you remove the resurrection from the Christian faith, the entire superstructure comes crashing down! A gospel without the resurrection is not only not good news, its no news at all. Over the course of time, billions and billions of people have died. But only ONE of those billions has permanently risen from the grave. His Name is Jesus, and He is the only real hope we have.
Without Easter we have no resurrection, and without the resurrection we have no hope. But thank God, we HAVE an Easter, we HAVE a resurrected Savior, and we have a living HOPE! Jesus is RISEN… And We Are FORGIVEN! So how will you celebrate Easter this year? Will you go through the motions of getting dressed up, go to church, and maybe go out to dinner with relatives or friends? How will you commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus this year? Perhaps you have yet to receive Christ as your personal Savior. If so, I can’t think of a neater time than the Easter season to do so. And if you’ve already accepted the Lord, you can celebrate this Easter with a renewed sense of appreciation for the forgiveness, the meaning, and the hope that His death and resurrection brings to our lives.
John R. Petrilli
If someone were to ask you what the most important event in history was, what would your answer be? Some might choose the winning of a world war, a life-changing invention, or the day man landed on the moon. Many
would likely cite an event involving world leaders, while those interested in the sciences would probably favor an important discovery. While each has merit, not one of them had an impact on eternity. For this reason, I believe that Easter is the most significant event in human history. A close look at that momentous Passover weekend substantiates Easter as the greatest event in human history. In the third chapter of his first letter, the apostle Peter reveals three ways that the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ have impacted both time and eternity.
EASTER’S CROSS CHANGED OUR SPIRITUAL STATUS FROM GUILTY SINNERS TO FORGIVEN SAINTS.
“Christ died for sins, once for all, the just for the unjust.” 1 Peter 3:18a
Credit card debt is running rampant in our society. Consider this: The average American now carries a credit card debt of over $10,000, a whopping 175% increase over just seven years ago! If you multiply this amount by only ½ of America’s population, it would total a stunning $800 trillion dollars of credit card debt! It’s hard to even fathom what the credit card debt of the whole world is. Now imagine if someone offered to pay-off the credit card debt of the whole world. That would be nothing short of astounding! Now picture in your mind someone paying-off the sin debt of every man, woman, and child ever born! That’s just a hint of the unbelievable magnitude of Jesus’ death for our sins. Our text also describes Jesus with the adjective, “just”.
The scandalously incredible thing about the Easter story is that no charge against Jesus actually stuck. They crucified a completely innocent man! After rigorous and repeated cross-examinations, Pilate found Jesus completely innocent of all charges. Pilate’s wife warned him to “have nothing to do with that INNOCENT man”! The chief priests couldn’t produce a single shred of evidence to convict Christ! Judas went to his grave openly admitting he’d betrayed an innocent man. Not only was Jesus innocent of any crime, His whole LIFE was innocent of any sin! When Christ challenged his enemies to find a single fault in Him, they couldn’t!
In his Pentecostal message Peter calls Christ, “the Holy and JUST One”. In his pre-martyrdom address, Stephen referred to Jesus as “the JUST One.” Paul declared Christ to be, “without sin, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners”. Jesus Christ was the only person ever born with a sin-less nature, and that qualified Him to die in our place for our sins. Without Easter we would be forever stuck in a miserable state of guilt. But Jesus took our guilt & sin to the cross so that we can live as forgiven people.
EASTER’S CROSS CHANGED OUR EXISTENCE FROM MEANINGLESS TO PURPOSEFUL.
“Christ died … so that He might bring us to God”. 1 Peter 3:18b
While cellphones certainly have many advantages, one of the inconveniences is the dreaded “dropped call”. For those not familiar with that term, it’s when the signal is lost and the cell call ends without any warning.
Disconnects are tough to deal with. They bring a halt to the free flow of communication. The greatest disconnect of all time took place when man lost connection with God. That disconnect left us completely out of touch with our Creator. Nothing we could do could ever restore that lost connection. Only the death of the spotless Lamb of God could get us back in touch with God. That’s why Jesus suffered on that Cross, to get us back to God. As Jesus breathed His last, the veil of the Temple ripped in two, openly exposing the holy of holies, and signifying that Jesus’ death had successfully opened-up the way back to God. The meaning of life is all wrapped-up in finding, knowing, and enjoying God. Finding Christ is like discovering the spiritual key that unlocks the real meaning of life. We vainly fill our lives with toys and things hoping they’ll provide a sense of purpose. But this is futile because it looks for significance in all the wrong places. Jesus said quite plainly, “I have come that they may have abundant life … no one comes to the Father except through Me”. Meaning can only be found in having a right relationship with God, and that relationship can only be restored through His Son Jesus Christ. Once we’ve been brought back to God through faith in Christ, we experience meaning and purpose that exceeds our wildest dreams. Because of Easter, we can experience the meaning God intends our lives to have.
EASTER’S EMPTY TOMB CHANGED OUR OUTLOOK FROM EMPTY DESPAIR TO CONFIDENT HOPE.
“Christ was …. made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18c
If you haven’t had the opportunity to see Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion”, you may be missing one of the best passion movies ever. While I appreciated the accuracy and intensity of the movie, I must say that I was a bit disappointed with the way the resurrection was underplayed. After devoting almost two hours to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and crucifixion, the movie ends with an extremely short scene depicting Christ rising up
inside the tomb. As I exited the movie theater I was amazed at how many people were so grief stricken. Many were crying openly. I believe this may have been due in part to the movie’s great imbalance between the cross and the resurrection. True, Jesus’ death was horrible and should elicit repentance in our hearts. But without significant time given to the resurrection, the movie left a lot of people drowning in the grief of the cross instead of rejoicing in the victory of the resurrection.
The message of Easter ends on the victorious note of the resurrection! And that’s what Peter describes when he pens the words, “Christ was made alive in the Spirit”.
When it comes right down to it the only reason we can live with any real hope is the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead! Indeed, in this one letter alone Peter mentions hope four times. In Chapter 1, verse 3, he says that the believer has been born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Chapter 1, verse 13, Peter encourages his readers to hope to the end. In Chapter 1, verse 21, he says that the resurrection enables us to place our faith and hope in God. And in Chapter 3, verse 15, Peter encourages believers to provide non-Christians with a rationale for their hope by attributing it to the resurrection. Someone has observed that man can live for weeks without food, for days without water, but he cannot live for one second without hope. Hope is essential to our survival.
If this is true of our hopes in time, how much more true is it of our hope for eternity? Indeed, the Apostle Paul cites the resurrection as the very foundation of our faith. In 1 Cor. 15 he goes so far as to say that a life lived without hope in the resurrection is futile, lost, and pitiful. If you remove the resurrection from the Christian faith, the entire superstructure comes crashing down! A gospel without the resurrection is not only not good news, its no news at all. Over the course of time, billions and billions of people have died. But only ONE of those billions has permanently risen from the grave. His Name is Jesus, and He is the only real hope we have.
Without Easter we have no resurrection, and without the resurrection we have no hope. But thank God, we HAVE an Easter, we HAVE a resurrected Savior, and we have a living HOPE! Jesus is RISEN… And We Are FORGIVEN! So how will you celebrate Easter this year? Will you go through the motions of getting dressed up, go to church, and maybe go out to dinner with relatives or friends? How will you commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus this year? Perhaps you have yet to receive Christ as your personal Savior. If so, I can’t think of a neater time than the Easter season to do so. And if you’ve already accepted the Lord, you can celebrate this Easter with a renewed sense of appreciation for the forgiveness, the meaning, and the hope that His death and resurrection brings to our lives.
There’s Hope for You!
There’s Hope for You!
John R. Petrilli
One day a hospital program teacher was assigned to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and hospital room number and went to see the boy. No one mentioned to her that he’d been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
The next day a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy? Ever since yesterday his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live." Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"
That little boy recovered and blossomed because he’d found hope. He was going to be fine as long as he knew he would survive. It’s been said that a man can live without food for a few months, without water for a few days, with artificial respiration for a few hours, but can only survive a few minutes without HOPE. While there are some things that can give us hope for the short term, there’s only one kind of hope that can carry us right through this life and on into the next.
In this season of hope we can find real hope as we revisit the ancient scene where, on an early morning, in a quiet garden, the most incredible event of all-time took place. This event, more than any other, is THE reason for us to take courage and find hope where there doesn’t seem to be any.
THERE’S HOPE FOR YOU TODAY, NO MATTER HOW HOPELESS THE SITUATION YOU FIND YOURSELF IN.
“Jesus of Nazareth was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed Him, got Him sentenced to death, and crucified Him. And we had our hopes up that He was the One, the One about to deliver Israel.” Luke 24:19-21, Message
This is how the two disciples who met a disguised Jesus on the road to Emmaus described the events of the first Easter weekend. They were sky high on Jesus. He was everything they could have hoped for or ever dreamed of. Jesus was going to finally deliver them from all forms of tyranny, or so they’d hoped. But once He’d been publicly executed, the dream died, along with all the hopes they had placed in that dream. Three spikes and a spearhead brought it all to an abrupt end. He was dead and gone, and with Him, all their hopes and dreams. Now they found themselves drowning in grief and disappointment, having embalmed and interred the body of their best Friend. All this had already happened on Friday and Saturday, BUT this was Sunday. In a few seconds the risen Jesus would reveal Himself to them, and their hopes and dreams would find new life! They were in for the surprise of their lives! Just when all hope seemed lost, the Hope of Israel showed up on the scene, alive and well! If you feel like all hope is lost, then take courage, for you are a prime candidate for the gift of eternal hope!
THERE’S HOPE FOR YOU TODAY BECAUSE OF A GAME-CHANGING EVENT OF HISTORICAL PROPORTIONS.
“If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it, if there’s no resurrection of Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.” 1 Corinthians 15:14, 19-20, Message
We gamble every day by placing our trust in any number of people and things. But the biggest gamble anyone can ever make is with where they will spend their future destiny after they’ve left this life. One renowned scholar from the first century hung his hope on one crucial event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He understood that the hope of the Christian faith rose and fell on the veracity of the resurrection. This man whose name was Paul took tremendous pains to itemize the details surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He states that it was verified by well over 500 contemporary eyewitnesses who were alive at the time and saw then risen Christ with their own eyes. Paul also states that He had seen the risen Christ, as had many of the other key leaders and followers in the early church. Contest the resurrection as others have and will continue to do, the question remains, “If Jesus never rose, then why didn’t the authorities exhume and produce the dead body?” Because there was no body to dig up or recover.
The resurrection isn’t some clever story contrived by a group of deluded disciples ... it’s HISTORICAL FACT. As Third Day’s lead vocalist Mac Powell sings the lyrics to Rich Mullin’s song “Creed”:
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son! I believe in the resurrection! It is the very truth of God, and not the invention of man! I did not make it, but it is making me!
Over two millennia, millions have gambled on the resurrection as their source of hope for eternal life. If they are right, they now enjoy endless bliss in the presence of God. So what will you place your money on? The hope-LESS speculations of skeptics, or the hope-FUL promise of eternal life which God has declared through the resurrection of His Son (Romans 1:4)?
THERE’S HOPE THAT WILL EMPOWER YOU TO LIVE TRIUMPHANTLY TODAY!
“Because Jesus was raised from the dead we’ve been given a brand new life and have everything to live for, including a future in Heaven – and the future starts now!” 1 Peter 1:3, Message
If you’ve ever found yourself relocated somewhere that was completely foreign to everything you were used to, that’s how it was for the people these words were originally penned to. They were in really bad shape. Dislocated geographically, culturally, occupationally, and spiritually, they were long on trouble and short on hope. Like some of us, many were jobless, some were homeless, and others were penniless. Humanly speaking, they didn’t have a whole lot to live for. The apostle Peter understood that their literal survival depended on their possession of hope, so he directed their attention to the empty grave Jesus had left behind. If they could catch a “ray of hope” at the proverbial “end of the tunnel”, they’d make it through the crises of social isolation, peer rejection, and dire economic distress. The resurrected Jesus Christ offered that hope and they took it. So can you!
Fact of the matter is, true hope isn’t affected by our circumstances. Actually, the darker things become, the brighter that hope beams. This Easter you can find the source of true hope, and discover your purpose for life in the living hope of the resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead shows that this life isn’t all that there is. His victory over death and the grave proves that a wonderful life awaits all who put their trust in His death for the forgiveness of their sins. And as a new person in Christ, God will change the way you see the world, enabling you to overcome this world rather than being overcome by it! (2 Corinthians 5:17; Rom. 12:2; John 16:33)
Like that badly injured little boy who found hope from his teacher, there’s real hope for you. God sent His Son to die in your place, to pay your sin debt, so that you could have hope that extends far beyond this life and on into the life to come. All you need to do is ask Jesus to forgive your sins and save you. May the hope of the Jesus’ resurrection from the dead become a living reality in your life today. Happy Easter/Resurrection Day to all!
John R. Petrilli
One day a hospital program teacher was assigned to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and hospital room number and went to see the boy. No one mentioned to her that he’d been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
The next day a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy? Ever since yesterday his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live." Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"
That little boy recovered and blossomed because he’d found hope. He was going to be fine as long as he knew he would survive. It’s been said that a man can live without food for a few months, without water for a few days, with artificial respiration for a few hours, but can only survive a few minutes without HOPE. While there are some things that can give us hope for the short term, there’s only one kind of hope that can carry us right through this life and on into the next.
In this season of hope we can find real hope as we revisit the ancient scene where, on an early morning, in a quiet garden, the most incredible event of all-time took place. This event, more than any other, is THE reason for us to take courage and find hope where there doesn’t seem to be any.
THERE’S HOPE FOR YOU TODAY, NO MATTER HOW HOPELESS THE SITUATION YOU FIND YOURSELF IN.
“Jesus of Nazareth was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed Him, got Him sentenced to death, and crucified Him. And we had our hopes up that He was the One, the One about to deliver Israel.” Luke 24:19-21, Message
This is how the two disciples who met a disguised Jesus on the road to Emmaus described the events of the first Easter weekend. They were sky high on Jesus. He was everything they could have hoped for or ever dreamed of. Jesus was going to finally deliver them from all forms of tyranny, or so they’d hoped. But once He’d been publicly executed, the dream died, along with all the hopes they had placed in that dream. Three spikes and a spearhead brought it all to an abrupt end. He was dead and gone, and with Him, all their hopes and dreams. Now they found themselves drowning in grief and disappointment, having embalmed and interred the body of their best Friend. All this had already happened on Friday and Saturday, BUT this was Sunday. In a few seconds the risen Jesus would reveal Himself to them, and their hopes and dreams would find new life! They were in for the surprise of their lives! Just when all hope seemed lost, the Hope of Israel showed up on the scene, alive and well! If you feel like all hope is lost, then take courage, for you are a prime candidate for the gift of eternal hope!
THERE’S HOPE FOR YOU TODAY BECAUSE OF A GAME-CHANGING EVENT OF HISTORICAL PROPORTIONS.
“If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it, if there’s no resurrection of Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.” 1 Corinthians 15:14, 19-20, Message
We gamble every day by placing our trust in any number of people and things. But the biggest gamble anyone can ever make is with where they will spend their future destiny after they’ve left this life. One renowned scholar from the first century hung his hope on one crucial event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He understood that the hope of the Christian faith rose and fell on the veracity of the resurrection. This man whose name was Paul took tremendous pains to itemize the details surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He states that it was verified by well over 500 contemporary eyewitnesses who were alive at the time and saw then risen Christ with their own eyes. Paul also states that He had seen the risen Christ, as had many of the other key leaders and followers in the early church. Contest the resurrection as others have and will continue to do, the question remains, “If Jesus never rose, then why didn’t the authorities exhume and produce the dead body?” Because there was no body to dig up or recover.
The resurrection isn’t some clever story contrived by a group of deluded disciples ... it’s HISTORICAL FACT. As Third Day’s lead vocalist Mac Powell sings the lyrics to Rich Mullin’s song “Creed”:
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son! I believe in the resurrection! It is the very truth of God, and not the invention of man! I did not make it, but it is making me!
Over two millennia, millions have gambled on the resurrection as their source of hope for eternal life. If they are right, they now enjoy endless bliss in the presence of God. So what will you place your money on? The hope-LESS speculations of skeptics, or the hope-FUL promise of eternal life which God has declared through the resurrection of His Son (Romans 1:4)?
THERE’S HOPE THAT WILL EMPOWER YOU TO LIVE TRIUMPHANTLY TODAY!
“Because Jesus was raised from the dead we’ve been given a brand new life and have everything to live for, including a future in Heaven – and the future starts now!” 1 Peter 1:3, Message
If you’ve ever found yourself relocated somewhere that was completely foreign to everything you were used to, that’s how it was for the people these words were originally penned to. They were in really bad shape. Dislocated geographically, culturally, occupationally, and spiritually, they were long on trouble and short on hope. Like some of us, many were jobless, some were homeless, and others were penniless. Humanly speaking, they didn’t have a whole lot to live for. The apostle Peter understood that their literal survival depended on their possession of hope, so he directed their attention to the empty grave Jesus had left behind. If they could catch a “ray of hope” at the proverbial “end of the tunnel”, they’d make it through the crises of social isolation, peer rejection, and dire economic distress. The resurrected Jesus Christ offered that hope and they took it. So can you!
Fact of the matter is, true hope isn’t affected by our circumstances. Actually, the darker things become, the brighter that hope beams. This Easter you can find the source of true hope, and discover your purpose for life in the living hope of the resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead shows that this life isn’t all that there is. His victory over death and the grave proves that a wonderful life awaits all who put their trust in His death for the forgiveness of their sins. And as a new person in Christ, God will change the way you see the world, enabling you to overcome this world rather than being overcome by it! (2 Corinthians 5:17; Rom. 12:2; John 16:33)
Like that badly injured little boy who found hope from his teacher, there’s real hope for you. God sent His Son to die in your place, to pay your sin debt, so that you could have hope that extends far beyond this life and on into the life to come. All you need to do is ask Jesus to forgive your sins and save you. May the hope of the Jesus’ resurrection from the dead become a living reality in your life today. Happy Easter/Resurrection Day to all!
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